


Strictly Taboo

by TheMondayChild



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-17
Updated: 2014-07-11
Packaged: 2018-05-27 07:49:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 42
Words: 135,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6275830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMondayChild/pseuds/TheMondayChild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An old love comes back into Inuyasha's life with a strange request.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I'd Do Anything for You, Dear

**Author's Note:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE: There are a few things you need to know before you read this. 1) Myoga is person-sized in this. Also, I don't know how the business world works and that is painfully obvious. 2) This story is a festival of clichés. It is not a songfic, I just got bored and added some songs I thought went with each chapter as I was rereading what I wrote. 3) As soon as I started writing it, I wanted to finish it. By that, I mean I got so bored with it straight away that I couldn't flippin' wait for it to be over with. I could have just abandoned it, but I finish what I start. Abandoning a story is a mortal sin as far as I'm concerned (talking to you, Shrine Prostitute and Movie House Hanyou. SERIOUSLY?! ENDING ON A CLIFF HANGER AND THEN DISCONTINUING?! WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!). So I just rushed through it as fast as I could, no character development or editing or real thinking or anything. But I've noticed those three normally essential components to any written work are not required when writing fan fiction, as long as you make up for it with butt sex or something. 4) There are so many sex scenes here that I got bored with sex scenes. 5) I do not hate Kikyo, but she was the only one I could think of to play the part. I could have created an OC, but no one gives a shit about OC's. I know I hate them. 6) This story makes me want to apologize to my family about a thousand times just because I actually fucking created this plot, which is really just a cross between Belinda and Lolita and some other stuff. 7) I will not demand reviews. Ever. That's incredibly fuckin' lame. 8) Feel free to "flame" me. I personally don't feel offended when someone is not happy with my work. If some 12-year-old kid thinks naked people are gross and kissing is yucky and I'm a gross yucky bitch whore cunt dyke for writing this, then whatevs. It's the internet, you can do what you want. 9) It's pretty perverted and badly written, so if numbers 1-8 did not convince you, pleasepleaseplease listen to me now and don't read it. I'm only posting this because it could hit the spot for some, but this definitely will not appeal to most people and you probably shouldn't read any further than this incredibly long note which you have all just skipped over. Well, I warned you.

Inuyasha Taisho sat at his large wooden desk, thumbing through the random files fanned out on its surface, attempting to kill time before his next meeting. He toyed with the idea of stalking through the lower floors, terrorizing the employees with his mere presence. He decided against it, not having enough time to intimidate the poor men and women who worked for him to his satisfaction. The half-demon went back to his files, seeing the words without reading them, when the phone rang and he jumped. Usually all calls went to his secretary, as he did not hand out his personal office number to anyone. That narrowed it down to about three people, and at this time of day it could be only one. He sighed and picked up the phone on the third ring, suppressing a roll of his eyes.

"What now, Jaken?"

There was the sound of heavy mouth breathing and then, "How did you know it was me, half-breed?"

"You're one of three people who have this number and the other two know not to bother me. Plus you call every other week at the same fucking time, you idiot. Just get the rant over with."

"Hmmph. I just thought you should know that Tenseiga Corp. is now the third most profitable weapons manufacturer in the world. A half-demon like you could never understand the dedication and care a great demon like Lord Sesshomaru possesses to—"

"Yeah, uh-huh, that's wonderful. Riddle me this, toad midget, if Tenseiga is so great, why does my oh-so-amazing half-brother keep trying to take control of Tetsusaiga International?"

"You—you do not understand the complex workings of Lord Sesshomaru's mind! As the eldest son, the only legitimate son, Tetsusaiga was his by rights and he is generously allowing you to expand it until he feels like taking his rightful place as head of both companies—"

"And ruler of the world, yeah, yeah, I got you. Same time next week, alright?"

Inuyasha hung up on Jaken's shrieks, smirking at the phone. He looked at his desk clock and sighed. He still had another half-hour to kill before his meeting, the purpose of which he forgot to verify with his secretary, Myoga. It was hardly a rare occurrence.

He heard the familiar sputtering of his perpetually nervous secretary and suddenly the door to his office opened and was quickly shut, locking the little man out. His anger at being interrupted from doing nothing quickly faded into shock when he saw the woman standing in his office, leaning her palm against the door.

_Kikyo._

Kikyo Higurashi. She was the only woman he had ever loved in all his long, long life. He had proposed to her early on in their courtship, despite her family's objections, and they had even gone so far as to set a date before she decided to break his heart. She had left him on New Year's Day nearly two decades ago and he had lived his life alone ever since.

They stared at each other, neither of them speaking, just studying. Kikyo was forty now, he did the math in his head as he took in her appearance. She looked like a youthful thirty, her skin smooth and her hair still long and lush. She was still beautiful and somehow that upset him.

"You don't look a day over twenty, Inuyasha. Exactly the same. Somehow, I thought…" she trailed off and turned her eyes to the floor. He could feel her sorrow radiating from her.

"What do you want, Kikyo?" His words came out rougher than he intended and he flinched.

"Not much, maybe just the ability to stop time." She gave him a small smile which he did not return. Sighing, she got down to business.

"The meeting you're about to attend is with a representative from my company. I know you're going to turn down his offer of acquiring Shikon, so I came to make you a different one. Marry me, Inuyasha." Her serious eyes bored into him, through him, confusing him.

"If you're just going to talk nonsense then you can get the fuck out," he hissed, remembering old wounds.

"I'm not talking about love, Inuyasha, although I never did manage to get over you completely," she confessed in a quiet, steady voice. "I'm talking about something more important. My business, Shikon Medical Equipment, is failing. I believe someone is sabotaging it, stealing our contracts and leaking our designs. I don't have much time left and I have a young daughter. You are the only one I trust anymore, Inuyasha, and Tetsusaiga is too big to fail."

"Kikyo… What do you mean that—that you don't have much time left?" His anger had faded steadily through her speech and all he wanted now was to heal the pain he glimpsed in her large, beautifully-shaped gray eyes.

"I have breast cancer. I've been told it is inoperable. I was given fourteen months to live a little over half a year ago. I need you to save my business and take care of my daughter when I'm gone. Please, Inuyasha," she begged, "I have no one else."

"What about Onigumo?" he asked, somewhat sullenly. Kikyo had left him for some guy named Onigumo, telling him some bullshit story about her loving him but not being willing to spend her life with anyone of demonic descent. Most priestesses were like that, prejudiced against his kind, but he had thought her to be different.

"I was getting to that," she sighed yet again and sat down at the large leather chair in front of his desk, somehow sinking into it silently when with anyone else it made the most outrageous, embarrassing noises. "Shortly after I left you for him, he started to keep company with a bad crowd, all demons. They somehow turned him into a half-demon; he never told me why or the process involved. We fought and he became violent, and I left him. I am now committed to a man, Suikotsu, and we were going to marry but his brothers objected. Suikotsu is gentle and sweet, but he is weak when it concerns his brothers and they are a terrible bunch. I don't want Kagome mixed up in all that. Sorry for getting off-track, but I want you to understand what my life is like now."

He nodded. "And who is Kagome again?"

"My daughter. She's still so young and I don't want her to suffer with any of this knowledge of the failing business or my impending death. I want our remaining time together to be natural, not sad and forced."

He wanted to take her hand and murmur soothing things, something, anything. Instead he stared at the messy surface of his desk, silent, feeling her eyes on him.

"Have you arrived at an answer yet or would you like some time to think it over? I know this is a great lot to ask, but please be aware I would not request this of you if I did not believe it to be the best way," she said in a gravely urgent voice.

Kikyo. The only woman he could neither comprehend nor forget. Although he did not feel the way he once did, he would always be fond of her. She held a special place in his heart above all others, nearly equaling his mother in terms of his affection. He didn't even need to think about it, he simply answered, "Yes. I will do this for you, Kikyo."

"Oh, Inuyasha," she said softly, eyes glittering. "Thank you, truly. You do not know how good you are."

"It's okay, Kikyo," he muttered, wishing he had more profound and meaningful words.

She stood, graceful as always, and said, "I don't need to tell you not to let anyone, even my company's representative, know about what we discussed today, do I, Inuyasha?"

"Of course not, Kikyo. Let me walk you out."

She gave him a small smile and he took her arm, leading her toward the door where his secretary was still yelling and hammering.


	2. Want It Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just to let you know, this story has already been completed. I'll be updating every Monday and Friday. Also, this is gonna get hecka nasty super soon, so if you're young and/or you are a moral and/or ethical person, you're gonna wanna jump ship. The chapters are super short because I was supposed to head back and expand them, but yeah that's never going to happen so enjoy.
> 
> *Song for the chapter: Want It Back by Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra*

Inuyasha accepted the offer from Shikon's representative, not even allowing the bald little man time enough to finish the proposal. There was a surprised look on the executive's face and he bowed many times, offering to go over the particulars with him while trying and failing to hide his smile with his hands, like some sort of absurdly wrinkled child. Inuyasha directed the old man to one of his nameless employees and took his leave of them, mind full with thoughts of Kikyo. Heading back to his office for his briefcase, he ignored all greetings and friendly nods, grunting in annoyance whenever someone walked in front of him or too close.

"Sir, Mrs. Higurashi left her contact information here for you," Myoga said, obviously perturbed. He had known Inuyasha all his life and had never liked Kikyo, resenting the importance he placed on her. Inuyasha flinched; he had forgotten to ask Kikyo for her number. Thankfully, she always remembered what he didn't.

"She's not a missus, Myoga," he muttered sullenly. _Not yet, anyway_ , he thought.

He entered his office, clutching the thick, expensive smelling piece of paper with Kikyo's writing on it. She had given only one number, her home one. Scanning the paper, he saw that it was the same one she had been using during their engagement. Stuffing the sheet into his briefcase, he resolved to focus on the present and helping Kikyo. She needed him, and he would be there for her. Once again, she was his purpose.

All he could think about on the drive home was her. The good memories, the bad memories, the former now taking precedence in his mind, although they were few. They had met when she was just twenty-one, a recently orphaned girl suddenly in charge of a large family business. She had been somewhat sheltered growing up, almost spoiled, but she quickly learned the ways of her trade and ruled the company with an iron fist, taking it from national to international. It was this strength and determination that had first attracted him to her. They ran in the same circles, although up until her inheritance she had not gotten out much.

It took quite a while to win her over, as she came from a family of traditional priestesses and priests, her aunts and uncles disapproving of his presence and commanding her to cease associating with him. However, this only fueled their desire to be together, and they were together all the time. Kikyo was a mystery, incomprehensible to him. She was quiet, something about her always untouchable, like she was always holding a part of herself back, even when they made love. This, of course, drove him absolutely crazy and made him want her all the more.

He had proposed to her a month after her twenty-fourth birthday, in the middle of June, taking her out into the woods on some property he owned. He led her to the Goshinboku, the oldest tree in the country. She loved it there. They had sat in silence together, embracing, content with just each other's presence for hours. Then came New Year's Eve. Or Day. He wasn't quite sure, as she had ended it right as the countdown was at "one" and he leaned in for a kiss. She had turned her face to the side and murmured, "I'm in love with someone else", effectively breaking his heart and their engagement with just those few words.

Life was not the same after that. He couldn't even return to how he had been before he had met her. Even after she had broken down into tears and confessed that she still loved him soon after their break-up, the damage had been done. He would not take her back. He made sure she could never contact him after that, and eventually she stopped trying.

Inuyasha thought back to the business he had just acquired, again stopping himself from reliving the past. Kikyo's family was full of powerful priestesses and priests, their focus being on healing. A hundred years ago, they started channeling their spiritual powers into medical equipment and their business expanded rapidly, making the Higurashi family quite wealthy in just one generation.

Testsusaiga International, on the other hand, had begun in the 16th century, trading silk and precious metals and spices with Europeans. His father had started it after realizing that the world was expanding and changing and demons had better get with it or face dying out. Toga had left the business to him when he was just ten years old, knowing he was dying from wounds sustained while battling a rival in demonic trade. His mother followed a few years later and he took care of himself from then on, eventually becoming known as a ruthless businessman. Needless to say, he had quite a bit more money than the average human, even the average demon, but he hardly touched it, only continuing with his work to keep some part of his parents alive.

Tetsusaiga still dealt with shipping, but he also owned restaurants and construction companies and airlines and markets. And that was still just the parent company. There were many subsidiaries for all sorts of different things that even he couldn't name off the top of his head.

His brother, Sesshomaru, had always resented that Inuyasha inherited anything at all from their father and continually made attempts on his life from the day his mother died. He had learned to fight and guard himself. Life had taught him how to outsmart his competition and be two steps ahead of them, usually succeeding in everything he tried because demons underestimated half-demons and humans feared them.

In recent years, however, half-demons had become somewhat more prevalent, a couple becoming actors, a few politicians here and there, and even one Nobel Prize winner. It was for literature, but still, it counted. Prejudice against half-demons was hardly even heard of anymore, except among certain demon communities like the one his brother Sesshomaru belonged to. It was even something of a preferred race now, with humans admiring their life-span and athleticism and demons appreciating their softer sensibilities and willingness to be a bridge between two extremes. He could now walk the street in the daylight and be jostled along with the rest of the crowd like any ordinary Joe. He both marveled at it and detested it.

A month after Kikyo had left him, he decided to move on and start seeing other people. While he couldn't bring himself to do that just yet, he thought it would be a good idea to build himself a family home, a place he could carry his future bride over the threshold and raise their children. Plus, he was tired of paying rent. He had more than enough money, but he forgot half the time and landlords were always at his door.

He cleared a part of his forest himself, mostly the area around the Goshinboku. He toyed with the idea of tearing that down as well, it holding so many bittersweet memories, but he liked the tree and would not give Kikyo that kind of power over his choices. Using wood from the trees he had felled with his bare claws, he built a large, open house. Well, he didn't actually build the house, that kind of labor being beyond his skills, but he did design it and furnish the materials so it was mostly his creation.

The years went by and he didn't encounter anyone who made him feel even a fraction of the way Kikyo had. Inuyasha gradually came to the conclusion that a family was just not something he could have, and without noticing it swore off relationships and threw himself into his work with an energy he had not possessed since right after his mother passed. He still had sex; oral sex, anyway. Women all seemed like manipulative, traitorous shrews to him now, and he hardly wanted to be near them let alone inside one. He did have needs, however, and there was no shortage of office sluts willing to suck off the boss.

He arrived at the long driveway belonging to his home, the memories flying from his head as though they hadn't even been there in the first place. Clutching his briefcase, he jogged to the front door, wondering whether to call Kikyo now or later. Giddiness rose up in him. Now that he had something new, he didn't quite know how to act or feel. Inuyasha was incredibly sad that Kikyo was dying, but he had learned that humans tended to do that so he was not as shocked or grief-filled as another human would be. He didn't want to appear eager, as though he was still in love with her, but he did really want to know about the wedding arrangements and how to help her business and, eventually, the details of her last will and testament.

That last thought stopped him in his tracks and he practically ripped open his briefcase, grabbing the piece of paper with her phone number on it. Time seemed so limited now. He dialed it quickly into his cellphone, one hand clenching and unclenching. Finally, she picked up on the third ring.

"Inuyasha. Did everything go well during the meeting with my Shikon representative?"

"Yes, Kikyo, I accepted and everything."

"That's good."

Silence was Kikyo's way of asking what he had called for. Inuyasha tried to think of how to put his feelings into words, to communicate what he wanted her to know.

"Why don't you join me for dinner tonight?"

Surprised, although he knew he shouldn't be, he didn't answer at first. Kikyo had never invited him anywhere before. She would dictate where they went on dates, almost demanding he take her where she wanted to go, but her tone was always so soft he did not mind.

"Uh, sure. What time?"

"We dine at seven. It's the same old house, you remember where it is. I'm looking forward to talking to you some more, Inuyasha. Goodbye."

He murmured a farewell and hung up. Seven. He had about an hour to get ready and go. Remembering how Kikyo liked things just so, he traveled to his room and opened the closet, pushing back the disorganized mass of clothes until he got to the very back, where he kept the suits he had worn while courting her. He sighed and shook the dust off her favorite. His life was about to get a whole lot more difficult. The thought made him grin.


	3. Scream of the Butterfly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Song for the chapter: Scream of the Butterfly by Acid Bath*

The sun was just beginning to set when he arrived at the sprawling, three-story mansion. It needed a new coat of paint and the wood was rotting in several places, its overall appearance a far cry from what it had been when he had visited before. Inuyasha stood at the front door, combing his hair back with his claws, trying to get it to stay flat in front. He began to put his hair up in a knot, remembering how much Kikyo liked neat appearances, but stopped himself. The old suit and the hairstyle she preferred put together would be too much. They were no longer a real couple. It would be good if he reminded himself of that as often as he could to avoid slipping into old habits.

As he reached out to ring the bell, the door flung open. He jumped back a step, startled, and out from the house came a young Kikyo, younger even than when he had known her. She wore some sort of school uniform and he stared at her, stunned, not quite believing his eyes.

"You're him! We've been waiting for you. I'm so excited!" The girl smiled brightly and took his hand, shaking it gently yet enthusiastically. He was now positive this was not some sort of Kikyo clone standing before him, as this girl's voice was slightly higher than his former lover's and possessed a happy, musical quality to it. The mystery girl continued to hold his hand, dragging him inside the house and right into the parlor.

"Mother, your fiancée has arrived!" she sang out happily, her eyes never leaving his.

"Kagome, what have I told you about intercepting guests? I apologize, Inuyasha. She was told to wait upstairs. But she always was a willful child."

The girl dropped his hand quickly and looked guiltily in the direction of the floor, shoulders slumped. Inuyasha took a closer look at her. When Kikyo had mentioned she had a daughter, he had imagined a child, someone under the age of ten. This girl was in her mid-to-late teens but did have this sort of naïve air about her, appearing child-like but not childish. He had heard that raising teenagers was a terrible, terrible nightmare and he felt the beginnings of panic set in, trying to remember centuries back when he had been her age and coming up with nothing he could relate to her with, as he had already been head of a huge business and an accomplished warrior. What did teen girls like now? Crayons? Fishing? Sewing? All this flashed through his mind in about a second.

Kikyo came out of the hallway, breaking his reverie. She wore a flowing red dress and looked absolutely regal, her long, dark hair braided around her head like a crown. No jewelry decorated her body, but she had never really needed any to appear spectacular. The mere force of her presence was more than enough.

"Uh, it's no problem, Kikyo." The way she spoke to her daughter was making him feel uncomfortable.

"Nonsense. Apologize, Kagome," she said sternly, her gaze piercing as she looked at the young girl.

"I am very sorry, Father," she murmured with her head bowed. He could smell the tears starting.

"It's, um, it's really alright. Thank you for showing me inside, Kagome." He didn't know if he liked being called "father", but what the hell, he was going to be stuck as her guardian for a few more years so might as well.

"You are welcome, Father," the girl said gravely. He missed the refreshing exuberance she had possessed before. Now she appeared to be attempting to imitate Kikyo, and with her looking the way she did it really started to creep him out. One ice queen was enough. He could already tell she was a naturally happy, energetic girl.

"You are excused, Kagome."

Kagome shuffled toward the wide staircase, glancing back at him over her shoulder.

Inuyasha cleared his throat and asked, "Isn't your daughter going to be joining us?" The girl had been so happy. He hated to see her head off looking so defeated like some sort of beaten dog.

Kikyo turned her icy gaze on him. "It is Kagome's study time. She will have her supper after we are finished."

He leaned in close to whisper, "I think now would be a good time for the two of us to start getting used to each other, don't you?"

She appeared to be considering it and gave a small frown. "I suppose you're right. Kagome, go to your room and change into the dress you wear for company. You may join us after you have washed your face. Remember, no one wants to see a woman cry."

The girl made a sort of happy squeak sound and bolted up the stairs, slipping a bit with her socks on the thick wood floor, her excitement back full force despite the harshness of her mother's tone and words. Inuyasha stared after her, surprised at the interaction he had already observed between mother and daughter. He didn't care for Kikyo's stern manner with Kagome and wondered how the girl had managed to continue to be so naturally sweet when Kikyo seemed to be attempting to squash it out of her at every turn.

He felt a hand at his harm and turned to see his fiancée with a small smile on her face. She silently led him to the dining room, which was just as splendid as he had remembered it. It was a high-ceilinged room with Renaissance-style murals on the wall and a giant, solid wood table in the middle. The chandelier was missing a few bulbs but it didn't detract too much from the overall feel of the place. It was something that belonged in a museum, and a look at the dust settling over everything but the table made it seem as though it was in some sort of forgotten back room of one.

"Kagome does not know about Suikotsu and I would prefer to keep it that way, Inuyasha. I have been telling her about you all her life and she thinks of us as some couple in a fairy tale, reuniting after so long apart. And really, is that view so far off?"

He hummed and asked, "Why do you not want her to know about Suikotsu? 'Cause of his brothers?"

"Yes and no. Suikotsu was Kagome's first pediatrician and she developed this strange, unreasonable fear of him. That girl has always been difficult. She was so afraid of getting her vaccination shots that she created a story about him having some kind of other personality that enjoyed hurting children. She would throw these frightful tantrums before every check-up that no amount of punishment would stop and finally I gave in and took her to a different physician. She took to that one and Kaede still treats her to this day. I thought to re-introduce them earlier this year, but she still has nightmares about him. I just don't understand it," she complained, shaking her head sorrowfully.

"How long have the two of you been together, anyway?" he asked, mentally filing away the story she had told him.

"We've been exclusive for about seven years now. I do wish Kagome would get over her childish hysteria. It is so difficult having to meet in secret."

"She seems like a good girl, I'm sure things will work out," he said, trying to be helpful without taking sides.

"That really all depends on how you define 'good'. She is disobedient and lazy and does not even attempt to try and achieve scholastically. However, she is my daughter, and I will stop at nothing to make her a success," she said firmly, her eyes flashing.

"That's certainly… admirable," Inuyasha murmured, feeling awkward again. That girl did not seem like any of the things she had described her as, but really, who was he to say? He had met Kagome briefly not even five minutes before and Kikyo was her _mother_. She had carried her in her womb for nine months, raised her for years. How old was that child, anyway? He suddenly wanted to know exactly.

"Just so you are aware, Kagome decided to call you 'father' all on her own. I informed her you were to be addressed as Mr. Taisho, but she has always wanted a father in her life more than anything. I do apologize."

"Not at all. Er, so Kagome has never met her father?" Kikyo nodded and he continued, "Who…who is he?"

Her mouth curled upward in a small, humorless smile. "To be perfectly honest with you, I do not know. I was attempting to be rebellious and spent a wild winter in Europe, and then Kagome showed up in August. She was a couple months early, so rude and not even able to speak yet."

Inuyasha nodded, not believing her for a second. The father was Onigumo, she just didn't want to upset him and risk him terminating their deal. A wild winter in Europe? Please. Kikyo had never had a wild anything in her life. Kagome didn't look a thing like Onigumo, but then again she didn't really look like anyone but Kikyo.

"I'm finished, Mother!"

They both turned towards Kagome's voice, him guiltily and Kikyo as calm as ever. Kagome was in a dainty white dress, eyelets on the short puffed sleeves and edge of the skirt. The bright light from the vacated parlor shone behind her, highlighting the inky darkness of her hair and reflecting off like a halo. Inuyasha thought to himself that she looked like one of those Christmas angels you placed on top of the tree, the crowning ornament. She smiled a soft, genuine smile at him and his heart skipped a beat and then went very fast, almost like it was trying to make up for it.

"Kagome," Kikyo began, voice steely, "you know how to announce yourself when you enter a room. Now go out and do it again."

Some of the light left her eyes and his heart twinged as she left the room and reentered, saying softly, "Present, Mother. Present, Father."

"You are to call my guest Mr. Taisho. I went over and over this with you, why can't—"

"Actually, Kagome, you can call me anything you want." He had never before interrupted Kikyo, but the crestfallen look on Kagome's face just did something to his insides. He knew what it was like to long for a father.

Kagome glanced at him before looking to her mother as though asking permission. Kikyo's lips were pursed together tightly and Inuyasha feared he had overstepped his bounds, but then she waved her hand in a dismissive gesture and said, "You heard Inuyasha, Kagome. He is an adult and can do as he pleases."

Kagome glanced back at him and he saw that light shining in her eyes once again. He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, shoulders relaxing slightly as he did so. He knew Kikyo was a very proud woman and in the short time he had been at her home he had seen how strict she was with her daughter. Inuyasha knew contradicting her would not be the best of ideas, but he honestly did not approve of her parenting tactics. They were going to be married and that meant he had an equal part in bringing up Kagome. Right? Maybe a ready-made family wasn't quite what the doctor ordered. He shrugged mentally. He had nothing else going on and company would be nice.

Kikyo sat down stiffly at the head of the table and Inuyasha and Kagome followed, him sitting at her right and her daughter at her left. The table had been set with beautifully painted china dishes depicting different flowers, and he was sure the silverware was actually real, solid silver. He sat as rigidly as Kikyo, suddenly feeling like a peasant in the court of a queen. She had never made him this uncomfortable while they were dating. Kagome, however, could hardly hide her smile. He imagined her feet swinging back and forth carelessly under the table and his heart warmed, making him feel somewhat more at ease. Kikyo took her spoon and rapped sharply on Kagome's plate twice without even looking at her, the sound startling him, and Kagome immediately straightened, folded her hands in her lap, and turned her eyes downward to gaze at her empty plate.

"Urasue!" Kikyo called out icily, then turned to Inuyasha, saying softly, "I have foregone the salad course this evening. I remember how much you hate those."

Double doors at the far end of the room swung open and out shuffled an ancient woman, bent over with age. She rolled a cart in front of her, muttering unintelligibly. Her bugged out eyes rolled around in her head and Inuyasha suddenly lost his appetite, a truly rare occurrence.

The elderly servant pulled a lid off a large metal pot on the cart and somehow produced a ladle and three bowls from thin air. She served Kikyo first, her handling of the steaming hot bowl surprisingly quick and steady. Inuyasha was next and he gazed into the bowl at the soup. It was some sort of clear broth and had a single leafy thing floating around in it, probably spinach. He grimaced and set to work, wishing he could hold his nose so he wouldn't be able to taste it. He glanced up at Kikyo and saw her still sitting rigidly straight, bringing the spoon to her lips and consuming the liquid silently. Her eating habits had always unnerved him. It was like watching some sort of trick that belonged in a sideshow; the thing was just not natural. He suppressed a shudder and turned his eyes to Kagome. Unlike her mother, she ate with gusto, almost like she hadn't seen food in a week. He wondered how anyone could enjoy the bland yet disgusting soup so much, but then again Kagome seemed the type to either love or hate things with everything in her.

The meal continued in silence, Inuyasha feeling self-conscious and more embarrassed with every accidental slurp he made, Kikyo stoically gazing at the contents of her bowl and Kagome giving him a reassuring smile from time to time. Finally they were finished and the old hag came to collect their empty bowls. He moved to stand but Kikyo laid a hand on his wrist, eyes still on the table.

"It is time for the fish course, Inuyasha."

The words gave him a mini anxiety attack but he pushed it down, scooting his chair back closer to the table, wincing when it made a loud screech across the wood floor. Kagome giggled and he shot her an unamused glare, the half-smile on his face softening his eyes. Her happiness was contagious.

The doors slammed open again and Urasue wheeled out the same cart. She placed a cut of salmon in front of Kikyo and one in front of Inuyasha. It was garnished with a thin slice of lemon and a sprig of parsley. He sighed at how boring it all was. The old woman shuffled out, the doors closing behind her. He took a fork, hoping it was the right one, and dug into the fish. He placed the bite in his mouth and glanced up, noticing Kagome again sitting with her eyes cast down and her hands folded in her lap, no salmon dish in front of her. Inuyasha cleared his throat and broke the silence, saying, "Kikyo, your, uh, maid forgot Kagome's serving."

Kikyo slowly finished chewing and placed her fork down on the edge of her plate. "Kagome has been placed on a diet. She gained six pounds quite rapidly in this past month and her caloric intake has been cut."

Kagome's head bowed lower and he could practically feel the heat of her blush. He looked back and forth from Kikyo to the slim girl, vaguely wondering if this was some kind of dumb joke.

"She looks fine to me."

Kagome shot him a quick, grateful smile and his heart did that strange skipping-then-speeding-up thing again. Kikyo chuckled. "Inuyasha, you are too kind. You're going to give her a big head. With her height, Kagome needs to be exactly one-hundred pounds in order to be at her fittest and become captain of the archery team this year."

"I… I guess. Weren't you captain of the archery team when you went to school?" He was hoping to change the subject from this very awkward, very personal one to something safe.

"I'm surprised you remember," Kikyo said, obviously pleased. "Yes, we won every one of our competitions when I was captain. I led the team all four years of high school, the youngest captain in the school's history. No one's beat my record yet. I was hoping Kagome could have at least done the same, but unfortunately she has clumsy fingers, poor aim, and she detests practice."

Inuyasha nodded and took a large gulp of water while Kikyo went back to her food. He had completely lost his appetite and no longer wanted to eat even to be polite. His eyes fell on Kagome's hands which were still clasped in her lap. They were folded so tightly they were strikingly white, except for the pads of her first two fingers on each hand, which were bright red with the beginnings of blisters. He noticed her hands trembling even as she tried to hold them still. Inuyasha knew Kikyo only wanted the best for Kagome and wanted to make her outstanding to ensure her success in life, but Kagome was a delicate girl. It was already obvious to him that she would never be exactly what Kikyo wanted and she was very aware of it, that knowledge not stopping her from trying but still tearing her apart inside.

"How old are you, Kagome?"

"I turned fifteen in August," she spoke quietly, sounding slightly surprised at being addressed directly. She was a new fifteen since it was now early October. So young, he thought, his heart twinging again.

"And what do you want to be when you grow up?"

The girl glanced quickly at her mother who was still silently eating, and she whispered her response so quietly that he almost couldn't hear her even in the muted room. "A nurse."

Kikyo snorted, somehow a delicate sound when coming from her. "Kagome is to take my place as President and CEO of Shikon. She is well aware of that, and wanting to play nurse is just another one of her childish whims."

"But mother—"

Kikyo silenced her daughter with nothing more than a firm look.

Inuyasha felt guilty. He had thought it a safe question. He tried again, "Well, uh, what's your favorite subject in school?" There was no way something like that could cause tension.

Before Kagome could answer, Kikyo butted in. "It's best not to discuss school with Kagome. She's been doing worse than usual this year and that's really saying something when you know her history."

Not wanting to turn the evening into a hurt-the-little-girl's-feelings party, Inuyasha said, "That's odd. I've just met you, Kagome, but I can already tell you are an exceptionally bright girl." He smiled apologetically at her. He wasn't used to dealing with kids and was unsure of how to act towards her. All he knew was that focusing on her in such a negative way couldn't be good.

"That's it, though, you've only just met her," Kikyo said with a smirk.

"My teachers all say I'm doing well," Kagome said quietly, somewhat unsure of herself now. He could hear the hurt in her voice and he knew it ran deep.

"A B-minus in geometry is not 'doing well', Kagome. What are these teachers thinking? Perhaps it's time to switch schools again."

"Mother, please! I was just starting to make friends!" The anxiety in her voice was present in her face as well.

"I had hoped you would finish at my alma mater, but it appears as though that was not meant to be," Kikyo said as though she had not heard her daughter's anguished words, cutting her remaining salmon into bite-sized pieces and then cutting them in half.

"I'll bring my grade up in geometry and study four more hours every day and all weekend," Kagome said, the tears she had been holding back since the evening started now beginning to make their way down her face. Inuyasha felt invisible and helpless, wanting to help but not sure of his place yet.

"It has already been decided, Kagome." Kikyo's voice was a few degrees cooler than it had been and even Inuyasha shivered.

" _Mother_!" Kagome stood up so fast her chair fell over backwards, her hands shaking as they gripped the edge of the table.

"You are excused. You may go to your room and study."

A sob wrenched out from Kagome's throat and she turned and ran, footsteps echoing loudly. He heard a door slam.

Kikyo chuckled. "I hope that little display of hers did not change your mind, Inuyasha. Teenagers are like little bundles of insanity."

He sat still, eyes on where Kagome had been sitting. Were things always like this between the two of them?

"What the fuck, Kikyo!"

"Excuse me?" She raised her eyebrows very slightly in a cool, aristocratic manner. She didn't even look surprised by his outburst, she just seemed like she was waiting for him to apologize.

"What the hell was all that with Kagome? Are things always like this?"

"I warned you she was willful," she sighed. "If you don't want to do this anymore, I could always go with my back-up plan and send her to boarding school and try to hold on as long as I can."

Inuyasha's mouth dropped open in consternation. Did Kikyo not realize that what she was doing to her daughter was horrid? Or… was this because of the disease? He knew people dealt with death in different ways, some becoming peaceful and resigned, others lashing out at everyone around them. Kikyo fell into the latter category, he guessed.

"Move in with me."

"Excuse me?" she said again, eyes widening slightly. So that's what shock looked like on her.

"I want you and Kagome to move in with me before the wedding." Maybe with his company Kikyo would start to lay off of Kagome. At the very least, he could get Kagome some decent food.

"This is far too sudden, Inuyasha! I only just proposed our arrangement this morning. You haven't thought—"

"I have. I have thought this through," he lied, thinking quickly to make up for it. "I have six extra bedrooms just collecting dust and there's a good private school nearby where all my colleagues send their kids. Please move in with me, Kikyo. Let me make your last days comfortable. Shutting yourself up in this scary old place isn't good for you," he pleaded. It was really selfish of him and he knew it. Just having someone to talk to would make him content, he realized in surprise. He had not known how lonely he truly was.

Her eyes softened a tad. "Very well. I'll have you know that I do not intend to stop working and will be in the office or away on business quite a bit. My spiritual powers keep the majority of the pain at bay so I can keep up appearances. Every weekend I am home will be spent at Suikotsu's."

"Of course. I will not interfere with your routine."

Was this how she and her daughter lived? Was Kagome neglected and then controlled, over and over again?

"How do you think Kagome will feel about this?" he asked, not wanting to cause the girl more anguish. She obviously wanted to stay at her current school, but Kikyo's mind seemed made up. He would do what he could for her.

Kikyo laughed. "She'll be delighted. Kagome has always hated this place despite not ever having lived anywhere else."

Inuyasha nodded. A girl like her did not belong in this dark place, overcrowded with expensive, ancient objects that themselves seemed condescending. He could already picture her in his home, doing her schoolwork in the bright sunshine that always came in particularly nicely through the kitchen window, sitting at the small table where he drank his coffee every morning. He smiled at the thought.

"Thanks for dinner, Kikyo. I better get going."

"Didn't you have something you wanted to discuss?"

He had completely forgotten. "We can do all that when you move in."

"I want this wedding as soon as possible," she stated, placing her hand on his, eyes boring into his with intent.

"Well then, move in as soon as possible."

Kikyo sighed, sounding somewhat exasperated. "You are beginning to remind me of Kagome. So willful and stubborn. But alright. Urasue will give you the remainder of your meal to take home with you. I remember your horrid dietary habits."

He started to refuse out of loyalty to his precious ramen, but then remembered Kagome.

"Sure," he nodded.

No sooner than he had spoken, the double doors banged open and out shuffled Mother Time herself, holding several Tupperware containers. He took them from her and nodded his head goodbye.

"Call me, Kikyo. I'll find my way out, don't trouble yourself."

He walked to the door quickly, not waiting for a reply, anxious to find Kagome and then be on his way. He closed the heavy wooden front door as quietly as he could and trotted around to the back of the large, crumbling house, intent on finding Kagome's room. He knew from past experience that all the bedrooms were in the back of the second floor and all had balconies. Inuyasha had spent many nights lurking around here while courting Kikyo. Only one room had a dim light coming from it, a little one all the way at the end. He smiled up at the glow. He could feel her.

Bending down, he used his strong eyesight to locate a handful of tiny pebbles. He flung them up at the glass and was pleased when Kagome appeared immediately. It took her a few seconds to spot him, but when she did she opened the French doors and slid out onto the balcony. His smile grew and, balancing the stack of Tupperware on his hip, he jumped up and landed next to her.

"Woah…" Kagome breathed, eyes wide and glowing softly with a child-like wonder. He chuckled at her expression. His heart was beating very fast and he briefly wondered why, as he had not exerted himself at all.

"Why are you here, Father?"

He ignored her question and looked beyond her, into her room. It was small and plain, containing only a narrow bed with a sheet on it, a desk with spindly legs, a chair in front of it that looked like it was about to fall apart, and a closet. The door to her closet was open and he saw few articles of clothing inside, one being the uniform she had been wearing when he entered. There was a shapeless flannel nightgown laid out on the bed and he wondered if anything was less fitting for her.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he held out the Tupperware to her.

"Here. You should eat."

"But this belongs to you, Father," she said, even as she took it from him. Inuyasha chuckled again. Something about her just made him feel lighter somehow.

"I'm giving it to you, Kagome."

She bowed her head slightly. "I am very grateful."

He reached out a hand and ruffled her hair, lingering to savor the surprisingly silky texture of her waves.

"No need to be so formal. It doesn't become you."

The girl stared at him, silent, and just as he was about to excuse himself and leave, she dropped the Tupperware and threw her arms around him in a fierce embrace. He was startled but quickly returned it, cradling her head against his shoulder, inhaling her happy scent.

"May I call you… Papa?"

"Huh? Uh, sure. Whatever you want…" he murmured, distracted by her softness. She was a bit old to be calling him that, but he remembered what Kikyo had told him about her wish for a father. She'd probably grow out of it after it stopped being a novelty and then they would become friends.

"Papa Yasha. I like it," she said, followed by a sunshiney giggle.

She left his arms and he suddenly felt very cold, much colder than he had been before their hug, as he watched her pick up the scattered Tupperware, which thankfully had stayed lidded.

"See you soon, Papa Yasha," she whispered, closing the door behind her and drawing a curtain.

"See you, Kagome," he whispered to no one, staring at the French doors for a short while before jumping off the balcony and to his car.

Kagome placed the Tupperware on her desk and dug in, eating with her fingers. There was filet mignon (Kagome was not allowed to have beef), garlic mashed potatoes (also forbidden, potatoes were unhealthy) and a rich, fudgey cake (sweets were allowed in small portions on birthdays and Christmas). She ate quickly, enjoying it immensely, savoring the delicacies and thinking of her new father all the while.

Kikyo had told her stories about Inuyasha ever since she was a little girl. Her mother's eyes would soften and glow when she spoke of him in a way they never did at any other time. Kagome had always wanted to meet the man her mother obviously loved, imagining him to be strong and kind and gentle, worthy of her mother.

She had been surprised when she opened the door and saw Inuyasha standing there so nervously, but had tried not to show it. The guy looked hardly older than her! Kikyo had mentioned that he was a half-demon and she knew people with demonic ancestry aged differently, but she had still expected someone older and more mature looking, someone like her mother. Shrugging it off as opposites attracting, she had easily regained her enthusiasm and tugged him inside.

Kagome could definitely see what her mother saw in him. He was very, very handsome, so much more attractive than what she had imagined when Kikyo described him. She knew he was kind, he had demonstrated so repeatedly throughout the evening. Yet still, there seemed to be a wildness in him that could not, would not be tamed. She shivered just thinking about it. And those puppy ears! They sang a sort of siren's song to her, like they were begging to be touched. They just looked so soft and twitched so unexpectedly in such an interesting way. But her mother would have scolded her even worse than usual if she had given in.

Kagome usually took her mother's rebukes in stride. She was used to that kind of treatment and corrected her behavior almost without thought. However, Inuyasha witnessing her verbal punishments embarrassed her and she reacted much more emotionally than she would have under normal circumstances. She had desperately wanted to make a good impression. She had been praying for a father all her life, after all. Kagome used to pray for a sibling as well, but one day Kikyo overheard her litany of secret wishes and laughed, saying one pregnancy was enough for a lifetime and adoption was out of the question with a child so prone to misbehaving already her responsibility. So at the age of six she gave up all hope for a little brother or sister and instead doubled her prayers for a father. She just hadn't expected to get such a young, good-looking one.

Blushing, she pushed those thoughts far, far away from her mind, instead pondering what to do with the now empty and licked clean Tupperware. Kagome knelt down and pried up a loose floorboard carefully, going slow so as to be quiet, and slid the containers inside. She would wash them while Kikyo was at work and Urasue took her usual drunken nap.

Sighing, she rose to her feet and slipped out of her company dress and tugged it onto a hanger, wishing she could wear it more often. She only owned that, her school uniform, and two casual outfits consisting of plain white blouses, a black skirt, and a pair of khaki pants. Her mother said that if she had more clothes her head would get bigger and she would become vain, materialistic and worthless. Kagome changed into her nightgown and went to her small bed, turning the desk lamp off on the way. She climbed under the single, thin sheet and closed her eyes, thanking heaven for the gift of Inuyasha, the new member of her family. He would make her mother happy and that would make Kagome happy. She drifted off with a smile on her face and dreamt of white dresses and whiter puppy dogs.


	4. Koreaboo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: You guys ever have an idea, and you're like "I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm fucking doing it"? That's what this is.
> 
> *Song for the chapter: Everything is Embarrassing by Sky Ferreira*

Inuyasha woke up two hours later than usual, having drifted off near sunrise, not able to get the picture of Kagome glowing with her angel's smile, even after all she had been through, out of his head. He couldn't quite remember what he had dreamt, but he was sure Kagome had been present. Something about her just stuck with him, he could not quite put his finger on it. It went beyond just witnessing how Kikyo treated her, or knowing what the future held for her once her mother died and she would be left with him as her guardian. He would let her be a nurse or whatever she wanted to be and he would run the company for her, for Kikyo's memory. He would make sure Kagome lived a fulfilling life.

Skipping breakfast, he rushed to the office, spending the entire day yelling at interns and dumping tedious, mind-numbing work on his hapless employees. He vowed to go to bed early, aware of his irritability and hating himself for it. One good thing that came from his irrational anger was that it fueled him and enabled him to finish all his day's work well ahead of time. Inuyasha sat in his office, three hours before the end of the workday, wondering what to do. He could just go home, but he'd only feel the same, and all the employees witnessing his early departure would hate him more than he was comfortable with.

Without his permission, his mind went back to Kagome and Kikyo. If the way she treated her daughter was any indication of her personality as a whole, Kikyo had certainly changed, and not for the better. Or had she? Had he been too blinded by his love for her that he had failed to see her for what she was, failed to discern what she was capable of? The thought shocked him. She had always been cold, anyone could see that, and very proud. Kikyo held herself to a very high standard and demanded the same from everyone else. He remembered how she'd always comb his hair for him before they went out together, continuing even after he told her it made him feel emasculated, like a little boy. She would insist on picking out his clothes, even going so far as to forbid him from wearing things she thought were not "fitting for a man of his station". Of course she'd be even harder on Kagome, her own flesh and blood.

And they looked so much alike! It still boggled his mind. He had spent the entire dinner studying Kagome and Kikyo, and had begun to notice differences, slight though they were. Kagome's eyes were several shades lighter than her mother's, Kikyo's reminding him of lead and Kagome's of an overcast day with the sun begging to come out. Kagome's hair was wavy and slightly finer, looking untamed although he had a feeling she was one of those girls who agonized over its appearance. Kikyo's hair was stick straight and flowed naturally down her back like a waterfall, graceful. Kikyo's mouth was wider, her lips thinner and darker. Her face was a narrow oval and a shade paler, her cheekbones standing out in a way that made her look dramatic. Kagome's face was just sweet, somehow open in a way he had never seen before. And even though Kagome was young, she already had a fuller figure than her mother. Inuyasha told himself he hadn't been checking his future step-daughter out, it was just that he couldn't help but notice that her dress had been a little tight in a few interesting areas. He really had only been looking at her in the first place to see how she differed from Kikyo, and he had hugged her back so enthusiastically only because he hated to see a woman cry. He was not one to rob the cradle, although technically speaking the oldest human alive would be like an infant when compared to his years.

The phone rang shrill and he jumped. Jaken wouldn't call for at least another week. He narrowed his eyes at the shrieking piece of technology, imagining ways he would verbally torment what was sure to be a caller with the wrong number.

"Yeah," he barked into the phone, anger already blazing. He needed to blow off some steam and anyone would do.

"Inuyasha," Kikyo said in that soft, intimate voice that had always been just for him.

"Kikyo," he breathed. Just getting a phone call from her was surreal.

"I need to know when you would like me to move in," she said pleasantly.

"Hmmm," he hadn't given much thought to it. "What time does Kagome get out of school?"

She paused briefly. "Do you not remember my decision to withdraw her?"

"I do, I do," he assured her. "I just figured what with the move and all that you'd keep her enrolled until she got settled here. It's only like a twenty-five minute drive from your place."

"Kagome will be tutored by Urasue until she is enrolled at the school you recommended."

He shuddered, imagining the old hag torturing the girl with facts and figures, forcing her to recite pages upon pages of dry poetry until late into the night.

"Move in right now!" He hadn't intended to raise his voice, but his thoughts had drawn an image that left him feeling anxious.

"You're joking. I am not prepared, I could not possibly—"

"Just bring yourselves and whatever you'll need tonight. I'll send someone for your things first thing in the morning."

Kikyo chuckled. "So eager for company. You have not changed a bit, Inuyasha. I'm glad. Very well, my daughter and I will drive to your home immediately. I suppose Urasue can look after the estate…"

Inuyasha stopped listening. They were coming. The spare rooms were furnished, although plainly. He would let Kagome have first choice, since she would be staying with him longer. Feeling a dull ache in his gut, he thought of Kikyo's impending death. Would she suffer? Was she suffering now? She had to be, she was dying. Still working, somehow. That was so very her. How would Kagome react to her passing? _She will flourish,_ his mind answered, and he immediately felt terrible and wished he could unthink it.

"Inuyasha?"

He coughed guiltily. "Uh, yes. What were we talking about?"

"I asked for your address," Kikyo answered, her tone informing him she was somewhat peeved. He told her, giving her directions since it was somewhat hard to find, and they said their goodbyes. Immediately after hanging up, he rushed out of his office with inhuman speed, barely remembering to grab his briefcase. He sped home, breaking all sorts of traffic laws, not caring about getting pulled over. He burst into his house and immediately started tidying up all evidence of his bachelor lifestyle. Rushing around, he threw away random junk, tossed dirty laundry in the hamper, neatly stacked the magazines that had been littered around the coffee table and sofa, ripping the ones of a not-so-innocent nature into shreds with his claws and throwing them in the trash. He made a mental note to stop those subscriptions. It was the twenty-first century, after all, and porno mags were a relic of an ancient past. Plus, having a young ward would severely impact his masturbation time. He made another mental note to buy a membership to one of those internet sites his perverted accountant was always urging him to try.

Finishing with the first floor, he ran up to the second to do a quick once-over of the spare rooms. Opening up the windows to get rid of the stale smell, he checked the blankets on the beds for dust, going from room to room until he heard the doorbell ring.

He quickly made his way down the stairs and toward the door, stumbling over his feet in his eagerness, checking his appearance in the mirror on the wall before opening the door. He had been alone for so long, without even guests. Anyone coming over was exciting, but coming to stay… That was truly something.

Kikyo and Kagome stood on his doorstep, the girl behind her mother carrying two overnight bags, one in each hand. Kikyo breezed past him and into the living room, Kagome following and smiling at him, even more excited than he was. With a nod at her daughter to behave, Kikyo sat down on the sofa and Kagome continued standing, looking at her surroundings curiously, eyes lit up. Inuyasha tried seeing it from her point of view, wondering what made her seem so delighted, but couldn't. His home was large and plain, with little furnishing and almost no decoration. He used to keep a photo of him and Kikyo over the fireplace as a reminder that he had once been normal, but that had gone in the trash years ago. The only thing on the wall was the mirror he placed by the door to ensure he at least looked semi-presentable on his way out. He had only a sofa, a small coffee table, and a television in the living room and this was probably the only room he had put any thought into beside his bedroom. He had never been one for material objects, anyway.

"I love your home. It's so open and bright," Kagome said, her voice echoing in the near-empty room.

He laughed, surprised even though he had seen her thoughts on her expressive face. "Well, that's one way to put it. It's pretty much empty."

"It's simple. There are no distractions. Perfect." She smiled at him again and he suddenly felt nervous, not knowing why. She liked it, didn't she?

"Have you given any thought to where our rooms will be?" Kikyo asked, bored with their short conversation but still achingly polite.

"Er, I thought I would just let you two pick."

"Aren't you guys going to be together?" Kagome asked, blushing.

Inuyasha winced visibly. Kagome did not know this marriage was just a charade. He had to think of something to say before Kikyo started giving him The Look. The Look was something he had feared most during their relationship, always right there whenever he managed to slip up in the littlest way.

"Uh, well—"

"Inuyasha is very old-fashioned. He and I will be sleeping separately until the wedding." Kikyo gave him a slightly milder version of The Look and he relaxed. She always had things covered.

"Oh, that's so romantic!" Kagome squealed, clapping her hands and dropping their bags in the process. Kikyo rolled her eyes and the girl immediately flushed and looked down. She bent down to pick the bags up again and he did as well, taking them from her and brushing her fingers in the process. Kagome didn't seem to notice, but he certainly did. Shivers ran up and down his spine, and he wondered at how such slight contact could make him feel like that. She thanked him with another one of her angel smiles and he told himself he had just been alone for too, too long.

"Why don't you ladies follow me upstairs and we can pick out rooms?"

Kagome hurried toward the stairs, almost skipping, but feeling Kikyo's glare between her shoulder blades, she slowed down and stepped gracefully, pausing at the bannister to wait for them. Inuyasha lead the way, followed by Kikyo, and he placed their bags at the head of the stairs.

"Go ahead, Kagome. Pick one."

Kagome stared at the rows of doors he had gestured to, one down the hall to their left and one down the hall to their right. Suddenly turning shy, she said, "Um, Mother should pick first."

Before Kikyo could speak, he said, "Nope, I'm the man of the house and I say you get first pick. Now go ahead. Look inside the rooms, too. You can't pick properly if you don't know what they look like."

She glanced at him and then away again quickly. "Whichever's smallest."

Sighing in a playfully exasperated manner, he pointed to the one closest to them. It was actually the largest after his own, the one he had wanted her to have. "That one, then. Open the door and check it out."

Tentatively, she placed her hand on the door knob and turned, entering the room slowly. She gasped and the sound delighted him. The room was very plain, with white walls, wood floors, a twin bed and a good-sized closet. Its one special feature was a large bay window with a window seat. It had a good view of the Goshinboku and the sunlight came in strong. He watched her take in her surroundings, her happy gray eyes darting about every which way.

"You like it?" he asked lazily, leaning against the doorway and feeling proud.

"I love it!" She skipped back to the door and threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Papa Yasha," she murmured into his chest. He stroked her hair again, one arm wrapped around her with a hold as tight as hers. Inuyasha sniffed her hair, completely conscious of the creepiness but too drawn in by her scent to care much about it. What was it? What was so very attractive about it?

"'Papa Yasha'? When did that happen?" Kikyo asked, amused. He stiffened guiltily. He had completely forgotten she was there.

Kagome pushed away from him and explained quietly, gaze stuck on the floor, "He said I could call him anything I wanted and Papa Yasha just felt right."

"I'm going to take a room in the other hall," Kikyo said with an air of distraction about her, wandering off as she spoke.

"My room's right down the hall from yours, Kagome, okay?"

"Can I see it?"

He immediately blushed, cursing himself for his reaction to her innocent words. "Uh, sure. This way."

He led her to the end of the hall, his door already open. She skipped inside ahead of him then stopped so abruptly he bumped into her. He was about to apologize when she said, "Wow! Your room is so _cool_!"

Nodding, he again tried to see his home through her eyes. Usually he hardly noticed his surroundings, but with Kagome there everything was just so much clearer. His bedroom was red, black, and gold with a splash of white here and there. His walls were total black, and the bed was large, beyond king-sized, a Victorian-style four poster with a heavily embroidered gold bedspread and red satin sheets. He normally was not one for such extravagance, but he enjoyed his sleep and had splurged on this one thing. The single window of the room was large but covered with a heavy, deep red velvet curtain with gold tassels. The thick, soft carpet was pure black, the intricately carved chest of drawers white. Bookshelves took up an entire wall from top to bottom, all but the space where an arch led to his personal bathroom, the floor of which had a white and red mosaic of the sun.

A light laugh and the creak of bedsprings startled him from his observation and he looked to see Kagome on her back on his bed. She spread out her arms and smiled, her dark hair fanned out gloriously over the shining covers. He felt an odd tightening in his chest as he looked at her, a nervous anticipation. He wanted to reach out and—he knew not what.

"Can you jump on it?"

"Er, I never really tried."

She sat up and bounced a little and his eyes could not help but follow her movements. Something, everything about her was just so appealing. Seeing her on his bed brought odd feelings that he was not willing to decipher. He felt a wave of guilt wash over him and he shrugged his shoulders, dismissing it. He had done nothing wrong.

"Let's see which room your mom picked."

The girl nodded and scrambled off the bed, hurrying out his door and down the hall they had come. He took a deep breath and followed, noticing that her scent was now in his room for better or for worse.

Quickly, he caught up to Kagome, gesturing to the door beside hers that was going to be her private bathroom from now on. She peeked inside. It was small but had all the necessary items. Kikyo was standing outside the room at the end of the other hall. For some reason, Inuyasha felt glad she was as far away from him as could be. He cared deeply for her, but this reunion had him drawing new conclusions about her and he couldn't say they were good ones. She had already taken her bag and unpacked the few things she had brought with her.

"All settled in?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you. I must get going, though I would love to stay and catch up. We've hardly had any time to talk."

"W-wait, what?" She was going to leave him alone with Kagome? A teenage girl? He visibly paled. He didn't know the first thing about teenagers, especially modern ones.

"I know, but it's urgent. We're developing a new line of glucometers and those incompetent idiots I employ need my oversight on every little thing, especially now."

"Can I come?" Kagome asked, perhaps a little too brightly. He sensed she was nervous, and the fact that she was as uncomfortable as he was in this new situation soothed him a bit. Perhaps they could find common ground somewhere.

"Of course you'd only show interest in your future right when it's inconvenient," Kikyo muttered. "I'm in a rush. I'm going to have to drive out to the factory so I probably won't be back tonight."

"Okay," he squeaked, his anxiety reaching new heights. Kikyo kissed him on the cheek and rushed downstairs and out the door, but he hardly noticed. His heart was beating so loudly he was sure even the little human girl could hear it.

"So…" Kagome said. He could tell from the start that she was not one who was content with simple silence, but even she seemed at a loss for words. They had been alone together once before, but Kikyo had been nearby. Now it was like they were meeting for the first time.

"Uh…yeah." He flinched at how stupid he must sound to her. She was looking at him with her big, gray eyes and seemed so unsure. He remembered she had not had a male presence in her life and reasoned with himself that he was as new to her as she was to him. They were on equal ground.

"Have you read all your books?"

"Most of them." He could not think of anything to say beyond that. Words were gone. He knew seventeen different languages yet he could not even manage a complete sentence in front of this girl.

"I love to read."

"If—If you want, you can borrow a book. Or two. Or twelve. Any of them. Any time. Just ask me. Or not. It's okay. Some of them are really old though, so you'll have to be careful. They're mostly history books, a few novels. Nothing really brand new. Well, brand new meaning the last fifty or so years." The word vomit was worse than silence. He wanted to punch himself.

"Thank you," she smiled sweetly, lessening his embarrassment.

"Yeah. Do you need any help unpacking? Or do you need me to get you anything?"

"No thanks, I brought everything with me."

"Everything?" He raised an eyebrow. Those overnight bags were small and only one of them was hers. "Are you sure? Who knows when Kikyo will be back. Don't you need toothpaste or shampoo or a change of clothes?"

"No, I've got it all. I packed all my things when we left. I didn't want to go back," she confessed.

" _All_ your things? Seriously?"

"Yes. Mother says a spartan upbringing ensures a greater drive for success later in life."

Inuyasha was speechless. He himself wasn't very materialistic, but he sure as hell would not limit himself to a single bag of possessions. He knew enough about teenage girls and females in general to know that they were supposed to have _things_. Women liked things. Kagome didn't have enough. An idea took root in his mind and he smiled. He had found a way to bond with her.

"We're going shopping."

"Alright. What would you like me to make for dinner?"

He laughed outright. "No, Kagome. We're going shopping for _clothes_. Clothes for you."

"Oh." Her eyes widened and she seemed very surprised. Patting himself on the back for remembering something about the fairer sex, he eyed her clothing. A plain, white blouse that looked exactly like what she had worn for her school uniform and a knee-length, shapeless black skirt. He assumed her other clothes would be much the same, boring and not suited to her.

"Come on. We're going to one of the Tetsusaiga stores."

"R-right now?"

"That's what I said." He spoke in his more casual, somewhat rough tone. Now that he had a purpose he was no longer nervous, no longer unsure. Kagome followed behind him and they exited the house, not even bothering to lock the door. He never did. Hardly anybody knew where he lived, the road leading to his home was ten miles of dirt and hard to find unless you knew where it was. Add in the chain-link fence with barbed wire going all around his forest, and you have a pretty secure homestead.

Inuyasha slid into his favorite car, the sleek white one he had spent a large, forgotten amount of money on. He heard the door close and started the engine.

"Front seat, Kagome. You're not a child," he smirked.

He heard her belt unbuckle and she slid into the front seat gracefully, legs first. Catching himself just as he began to admire the long, creamy appendages, he backed up and sped out of the driveway. Now he was presented with a series of new problems. Did she want to make conversation? Or would she prefer music? But what kind of music? Maybe even talk radio? And what about when they got to the shop? He knew nothing of her preferences and she seemed to not know much more about what she'd like herself, apparently having never been allowed a choice in her life.

"So, um, you own Tetsusaiga?"

"Yes," he almost sighed in relief. She was talking about his business! He could go on about the subject for hours even in his sleep.

"I've never been to any one of the stores, but I've heard they're everywhere."

"Yeah. We're like Wal-Mart, only not cheap and shitty." His eyes widened when he realized he had cursed in front of Kikyo's daughter. Fuck, if this got back to her he'd be in trouble.

But Kagome just giggled. "I've never been to a Wal-Mart, either."

"Have you ever been anywhere?" he asked jokingly.

She sighed. "Not really. I've honestly only ever been shuttled from whatever school to home and back again. But sometimes Urasue lets me watch television so I don't feel like I'm missing out on too much."

Almost getting into a car accident from gaping at her, he quickly righted the vehicle and kept his eyes on the road. "Seriously?! You've never been anywhere but that dusty old place and whatever snobby school Kikyo picked?"

"Well, I've been to other people's houses. I'm not a complete loser," she muttered.

He blanched. He hadn't been trying to insinuate that there was something wrong with her. "I'll just have to take you out and show you around then. Organize your grand debut. We'll go shopping and then to a restaurant and a movie or something. You've seen movies, right?"

Kagome snorted, obviously taking offense at his words. "I might have never been to a theater, but I've seen a ton of movies."

"Alright, don't get pissy with me, angel. I'm just trying to show you a good time." The nickname he had been calling her in his mind just slipped out and it felt too right to take back.

He glanced at her and she was smiling at him. "Thank you, Papa Yasha."

He flinched at the name, hoping his reaction wasn't obvious. Being a father was not something he had ever seriously thought about, and to have a young woman call him that made him feel like some sort of pimp. Vowing to get used to it, he pulled into the parking lot of Tetsusaiga department store, managing to snag a spot close to the front.

Inuyasha practically jogged to the front of the store, Kagome running to keep up with him. He wanted to give to her, but he hated shopping. The people, the searching, the waiting. He constantly thanked whatever deity came first to his mind for the creation of the internet. Now he could just get whatever he wanted from his home and he didn't even have to talk to anyone to do it. But Kagome needed clothes now and she deserved the experience.

"Pick what you like. I'll go over and wait by—"

She grabbed his wrist so suddenly it stunned him, then released him just as quickly. "S-sorry. It's just… I haven't been alone before. I don't know what to do," she whispered, glancing at all the people around them with wide eyes.

"Sure. Uh, let's head to the women's section."

They wandered the short distance to where women's clothes were kept, Inuyasha leading the way. Kagome stared at everything, her eyes constantly moving from item to item, person to person. She jumped when an announcement came from the speakers in the ceiling, interrupting the boring elevator music with a pre-recorded message reminding them that Halloween was just three weeks away and Tetsusaiga had a variety of women's costumes that would make your friends "scream in jealousy at how boo-tiful" you look.

"So… You're afraid of Count Chocula," he teased as soon as the goofy voice ended and the jazz came back on.

She smacked his arm that she had been gripping not two seconds before. "It surprised me! After the music, it was very loud and just—Ugh. And that stupid laugh!"

"Do you want me to tell them to turn it down?"

"No, no. Let's just keep going." She marched ahead of him, determined, and he stared after her a few seconds before following, wondering why he liked her so much so soon.

"So," she said, stopping in front of a rack of skirts. He waited for her to continue, but she did not. Kagome was holding a skirt in one hand and fiddling with the tag.

"Just get what you want, Kagome," he said. "You'll pay me back by ending your hermitage."

She glared up at him with a soft pout and he smirked at her expression. "I didn't stay at home because I wanted to, you know."

"I know. Now get what you like before Count Chocula comes back on and you start screaming for help and embarrass us."

She stomped away angrily towards a row of dresses and he followed her with his eyes, leaning against the rack of skirts she had been touching. Realizing she was probably going to buy a lot of expensive things now that he had ticked her off, he sighed and tried to calculate how much she would cost him over the next six years (at least). The numbers didn't matter much to him, but it was something to do. Girls were much more expensive than boys, he concluded. He would probably keep Kagome until she was 21, which was when she would inherit the company, although in name only since he would be the one officially running it. She would begin to receive a sizeable income from Shikon and would probably want to move out, unless she had already moved into the dorms of whatever college she ended up going to, or moved in with a friend or boyfriend. Inuyasha made a face at the last thought. He just could not, would not imagine Kagome with a boyfriend. Some stupid kid hanging around her constantly. She was attractive, more than attractive. There would be no shortage of boys offering themselves to her. He just had to make sure one of them was good enough.

"Papa Yasha?"

Shaking himself from his musings, he saw Kagome standing in front of him holding a bundle of clothing.

"I'm done."

"That's it?" He eyed the clothes in her hands skeptically. There was no way that was all she was getting. There was hardly anything there. "You're gonna need some more things."

"But my new school has a uniform, so—"

"So you're gonna need some more things. Are you planning on just wearing your uniform all the time? Who does that? I'll hold these, you go back out there and get whatever. Some casual things, some dressy things. We'll head over to shoes next."

She opened her mouth to protest but shook her head, handing him the clothes and heading back into the jungle of upper-end yet still reasonably priced (considering the quality) clothing. Bored, he held up the items she gave to him to hold. Two dresses, a blouse, and a skirt. The dresses were plain and seemed two sizes too large for her. The blouse was functional and exactly like the one she was wearing. The skirt he didn't object to, although he did think it was a little too short.

"Okay, I think I'm done for real now," she said, holding another dress and a pair of pants.

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah," she chirped brightly.

"No."

"What?" Her smile faltered and she looked confused.

"I just don't think these clothes you've picked suit you."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, exasperated. "You're dressing like a cat lady and you're barely fifteen."

" _What_?!" she growled between clenched teeth, obviously offended. "I don't criticize your taste in clothing. Speaking of which, what makes you think you can talk? You dress like a homeless guy from the 80's. When was the last time anyone wore a turtleneck with a blazer and jeans?! Let's not forget the Birkenstocks. I don't think that look has ever been popular."

Obviously, she was describing the outfit he had worn to Kikyo's house for the dinner. "Your mother picked that out for me."

"In this century?" she asked sarcastically.

He was going to shoot back with something just as sarcastic when he realized that it had, in fact, been an outfit purchased in the 90's and therefore a part of the last century.

"Whatever. Just get some new clothes. This isn't Little House on the Prairie."

"Fine. But you do the same." She had a stubborn look on her face and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

Smiling, she took the clothes from him and hung them back up. "Thank you, Papa Yasha," she said in a sing-song voice, skipping away. Sighing, he followed her with his eyes again, hoping she would choose something acceptable this time. He grabbed the short skirt she had picked earlier from where she had hung it up after his objections. He would include it in their purchases. Bored again, he decided to just enroll Kagome in school before Kikyo could change her mind. Dialing practically the only person he used the phone for, he impatiently waited for two whole rings before he got an answer.

"Myoga, enroll Kagome in that private school everyone sends their kids to."

"Who, sir?"

"Kagome."

"Uh, yes, but who is that?"

"Kikyo's daughter," he said, quickly losing his temper due to his subordinate's incompetence.

"Why would you be involved with that woman's daughter?"

"I'm marrying her."

There was a brief pause, and then Myoga practically yelled, "You're marrying Kikyo's daughter?!"

" _No_ , you idiot, Kikyo! Now just get it done."

"But sir, I don't—"

"Do it."

He hung up on his secretary and silenced his phone, not wanting to deal with his complaints today.

"Was that Mother?" Kagome stood before him, arms burdened with a humongous pile of clothes. He blanched. Perhaps he should not have encouraged her so much.

"No, I was just seeing about getting you enrolled in school."

"Oh. Well, shall we go look for your stuff?"

"Have you tried those on?" He gestured to the mountain in her arms.

"Do… Do I have to?" She fidgeted nervously, nearly dropping her bundle but regaining her hold at the last moment.

"It's kind of standard procedure. Just make sure everything looks alright."

Sighing wearily, she trudged toward the entrance to the fitting rooms. He went to sit in the chairs placed near the entrance she had gone through, those rickety seats chosen especially for the use of bored, suffering males. Inuyasha contemplated getting up and grabbing a few shirts to satisfy Kagome's "misery loves company" urge, but ultimately decided to wait until she finished. The minutes passed and he stared off into space, plunging into a depth of boredom so intense he was almost certain he was having an out of body experience.

"Done."

He shot up quickly, eager to move on and end this portion of the outing as soon as possible. His gaze landed on Kagome standing next to him and everything just stopped. Her face was turned away from him, she was looking around the store to see where to go next. She was wearing a yellow sundress with daisies embroidered on the hem, stopping inches above her knees. Her hair was the same as before but somehow appeared better to him, fuller and shinier. Kagome coughed and he realized he was gawking at her, so he quickly looked away and said, "What… What happened to the clothes you had on?"

She blushed and fidgeted, again almost dropping the pile of clothes she clutched. "The fitting room attendant took them and put them in the trash. She said I had wronged fashion and the only way to make recompense was to never wear anything like that again."

"…I see. You look—" He stopped there, not knowing what he was going to say and wishing he had never begun to say it.

"What? I look what?" She asked anxiously.

"Weird," he blurted out. He wanted to punch himself when he saw the stunned, hurt look on her face. "I mean, uh, not bad weird. Just… I'm gonna shut up now. It's a change, that's what it is. A change. And it's good. You look… good."

"Really?" she asked shyly, looking up at him from beneath her lashes.

"Yeah. Definitely. For sure. Uh, let's find some shoes and then we'll head over to furniture."

"Why furniture?"

"Your room has nothing in it."

"I think it's nice the way it is."

"That's sweet, but no. We're gonna turn it from a guest room to your room." It would make her more comfortable, plus it was a way to kill time until Kikyo got back and made things less awkward. Furniture shopping was more fun than clothes shopping, anyway, and it might distract her from wanting to update his wardrobe.

"Thank you, Papa Yasha," she smiled. A woman with two young children passed by and glared at them. He mentally rolled his eyes. That name really did make him sound like a pimp, and with how young Kagome was, he must look like a monster.

"Yeah, let's get going."

He watched Kagome try on shoes for the next half hour, marveling at all the many selections women had to choose from. He had only two pairs of shoes, one for work and one for not work. He preferred to go barefoot around the house, and if he could he would go barefoot everywhere. When she finally declared she was finished, he was burdened with the pile of her clothes and eight boxes of shoes stacked precariously atop it.

"Um, Kagome, I think I'm just gonna leave your stuff here at the shoe desk so I can see. We'll come back for it all when we're done."

Barely taking the time to nod, she was already skipping off toward furniture, her first timer's anxiety gone, and he hurriedly dropped his own name and shoved the pile of goods toward the masculine woman manning the shoe department, running after his soon-to-be step-daughter.

Kagome stopped suddenly and he literally ran into her, but quickly grabbed her upper arms to ensure she would not fall. "What'd you stop—Oh."

The lingerie section. Sure, those items were essential, especially for a teenage girl who was still in the process of maturing. But certainly she would prefer to go with her mother? However, Kikyo had mentioned she would be gone a lot, so who knew when she'd actually have time to spend with her daughter.

"You, uh… You need, um, those things?" He gestured vaguely to a rack of bras, not even looking at them or at her. Inuyasha cursed his awkwardness, wondering why this situation was so different. He had bought women lingerie before, no problem. But he had always seen them in those purchases soon afterward. Shopping for Kagome, though, made his palms sweat. Even if he just stood around doing nothing, not even entering the section, just knowing his money was what got her those things made him feel… well, weird. Nervous.

Distracted, she responded, "Yeah, I'll just grab a few things and I'll be done. I'll ask them to keep it here for us, okay?"

"Uh, do you need help?" he choked out, hoping he wasn't blushing even as he felt the heat rise to his face.

She laughed, and although he knew she wasn't laughing at _him_ exactly, he still felt his face heat up further. "No, I'll be fine on my own. It won't take too long."

"Get some pajamas, too." He remembered the nightgown he had glimpsed before, recalling its drab flannel look.

"Yeah, whatever," she muttered, already heading into the jungle of women's underwear. He exhaled and pulled out his phone to check the time, ignoring the fifteen missed calls from Myoga. Five o'clock. If they finished soon, they'd still have time for dinner and a movie. The nervousness came back full-force and he felt almost queasy. It was Friday night, a lot of people would be out and about, so it wasn't like he'd be alone with her, although he didn't know why he felt that was such an issue. Inuyasha nearly slapped himself when he realized he was thinking of this as a date instead of just getting to know his fiancée's daughter. It was true he liked her and thought she was pretty and he enjoyed spending time with her and he had been alone for a very long time, but she was so off-limits and he didn't even want to go there anyway, so he just stopped thinking and concentrated on getting the bored out of body experience back in order to feel semi-normal again and not like a raging pervert.

"Okay, let's go," she sang out, grabbing his wrist and pulling him from his thoughts and towards the furniture department. He found himself wondering what she had chosen and felt almost physically sick when he saw the direction his mind was taking. This was too fast, too wrong, too crazy. He would need to gain a great amount of self-discipline in order to take charge of his thoughts and prevent them from going down the path they seemed so focused on.

"What… What do we do?" Kagome asked, looking around at all the beds and chairs and sofas and tables. Nobody else was around, so she could not watch them and learn. Inuyasha chuckled at her anxious, confused face.

"Just take a look around and tell me what you like."

"I… don't know. I don't know what I like."

He sighed once again. "Whatever catches your eye."

"Can you pick for me?" she asked, pleading with him with her big, gray eyes.

"Why?" he asked, pretending he was bored. He didn't want her to catch on to how flustered she made him.

"It's just—you have such good taste," he flinched at her choice of words and she continued without noticing, "and I'm so new to this. Can you pick for me?"

"We can always come back later, you know, when you figure yourself out."

"I'll only ask the same thing. Please, Papa Yasha?"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to clear his mind, knowing it would make him appear exasperated and impatient. "Fine. But be honest if you don't like it, okay?"

She nodded enthusiastically and he resisted the urge to pat her on the head like a dog. He was sure she wouldn't appreciate it, and honestly he just wanted to touch her and that creeped him out. Turning to survey his options, he immediately spotted the perfect bed. It was a canopied bed, with almost transparent white curtains going around it. At its foot, the curtains were tied back to the posts, and he thought of a theater stage. Everything was white and puffy and it reminded him of a cloud. Since he thought of Kagome as an angel, a cloud would be fitting.

"That one," he pointed at the bed with a smirk.

Her brow furrowed and she glared up at him. "Did you just pick the first thing you saw?"

" _No_ , I just happened to see that one first and I knew it was perfect for you."

Taking his wrist, she walked towards it, intent on examining the quality. He hoped she could not feel his pulse hammering away.

"Well, it _is_ nice," she murmured. She flopped down on it and extended a hand, beckoning to him. "Test it with me."

Inuyasha's mouth went dry and he felt his upper lip tremble. Kagome's dress had made its way up her thighs and now her legs were almost completely bare to his eyes, something which he both appreciated and cursed. "Um, well, we're just going to buy a different mattress anyway, so—"

"Get over here," she said impatiently.

He obeyed without thought and lay beside her on the bed. "You've got a nice view of the, um, rest of the bed here," he said, staring at the curtain going over the top.

"It feels too big for just me. Do you think it comes in a smaller size, like maybe full at least? This one seems as big as yours," she complained.

He knew it wasn't as big as his, this was queen-sized and his was custom-made. "Big beds are nice. Lots of room for sleeping or whatever."

"Well, there won't be any _whatever_ in my bed," she joked quietly, blushing and wrinkling her nose. He forgot how to breathe for a second and reached out and tapped her nose, putting a stop to the wrinkling, cute though it was.

"Let's see if we can find a—"

"Can I help you folks?"

"—sales associate," he muttered.

Kagome sat up quickly and he admired the way her hair fell in messy yet pretty waves down her back and over her shoulders, one strap of the dress sliding down in a way that was not yet immodest. "Yes, we were wondering if this bed was available in a smaller size?" she asked pleasantly.

"We currently only have it in queen and twin, but we're getting a new shipment on—"

"We'll take it. Throw in the bedding, too, and get a soft mattress. Know what? We'll take the entire bedroom set," he said, rising to his feet and smoothing his shirt out.

"Sir, you're going to have to take care of that yours—"

Inuyasha flashed his business card and the clerk's smile perked up and his transformation into kiss-ass was nearly complete.

"Certainly, sir, and would you like it delivered and set up as well?"

"Yeah, sure. Get it done by nine tonight." He scribbled down a number on the back of his business card which contained only his name and title and handed it to the scarily chipper young man. "Call Myoga at this number, he'll give you the details. Let's go, Kagome."

Setting a brisk pace as he walked away, he heard her stutter out a thank you and scamper after him. He didn't slow down until they got outside the store and Kagome grabbed his wrist, again setting off that weird reaction he had to her, making his heart cease beating and then speed up. He stopped suddenly with his back to her, feeling ashamed when he heard how out of breath she was.

"Aren't we going to pay?"

Whipping his head around to look at her, he flinched in embarrassment. Being in the bed with her had made him so nervous he had defaulted into what he privately called Scary Boss Man mode, where he was abrupt to the point of rudeness, unquestionably in charge, and so alpha other males either avoided him completely or fought to be of service to him. He had concentrated so hard on being Mr. Taisho, President and CEO, that he had totally forgotten his purpose at the store. What's worse was that he wasn't sure if he was acting in charge simply because he was nervous or because he wanted to show off in front of the teenage daughter of his fiancée.

"Uh, yeah, I forgot. Guess I'm getting old…" he muttered, trailing off. Kagome giggled and he somehow felt elated and even more embarrassed all at once. "Tell you what, my assistant is going to be coming down here to get the bed already, so I'll just text him and have him take care of the clothes and everything else. It'll all be in your room by the time we're done."

"Thank you, Papa Yasha," she smiled, leaning in to give him a hug he was only too eager to receive. "You're so nice," she whispered.

"You smell nice," he whispered back, lost in her scent.

"What?" she pulled away quickly, an odd look on her face, and he realized what he had said.

"Um, I said you are nice. You're nice, too." Inuyasha wished they were by a mirror so he could casually check how badly he was blushing. He couldn't remember ever having been so awkward in his life.

"Oh," she laughed, relieved. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I heard something else."

He laughed uneasily, promising himself some sort of punishment later, such as no ramen for a week or something. They walked back to the car in silence, Kagome content and him wanting to get away from her and eager to spend more time with her all at once.

"This is like something out of a K-drama," she said excitedly as she buckled her seatbelt.

"A what?"

"A Korean drama. They're basically soap operas. But the guy always takes the girl out to buy her all these clothes and stuff and usually he owns the store they're at or whatever," she giggled. "The main guy is always a complete jerk, so you're more like the nice guy character. The nice guy never gets the girl, though."

He laughed with her, while a darker part of his mind he thought died centuries ago proposed he could stop the car and show her exactly how nice he wasn't. His brief consideration appalled him and he almost didn't stop in time for a red light, their quick halt making Kagome squeal in a way he was certain he could hear again if he used his tongue and hands instead of brakes. Inuyasha clenched his teeth and almost slapped himself. He was a modern man, with a normal routine and normal desires. He was not some feral monster fantasizing about fucking the girl next to him, willing or not. Their relationship would be friendly, but nothing more. If something were to develop, it would be only the feelings a father would have toward his daughter and vice-versa. Yes, she was pretty and yes, he was attracted to her, but nothing would ever come of it. Repeating the mantra several times, he let out a breath he did not know he was holding. He had most certainly been alone for far, far too long.

"So, uh, what kind of movie do you want to see?" he asked as they neared his favorite theater.

"Hmmm," she pondered for a moment with a cute, concentrated look on her face and he nearly got into another accident as he stared at her. Driving with Kagome would be dangerous. "I don't know. I usually like romantic movies, but you're a guy so you don't want to see that."

"Just pick whatever you want, Kagome, don't worry about me," he said, both loving and hating that she was so considerate. Kikyo had always picked without even asking him and it had ruffled his feathers, although of course he endured in silence. He shook his head, promising he would not compare the two any longer.

"We could see a funny movie, I guess. I don't even know what's out now," she mumbled. "Can you—"

"You better not be asking me to pick for you again," he interrupted.

"Please?"

"No. You need to start making your own decisions," he said sternly, trying to channel the fathers he had seen on old sitcoms.

"I _do_ make my own decisions and I'm deciding to let you pick," she said cheekily.

"Why?" He was sincerely wondering.

"You would know better than me. And it feels weird when you let me choose everything. It feels—"

"Like a date?" he said flatly, trying to mask his hopeful tone.

She turned to look at him, shocked. "No! Oh, no no no. It—it feels like… like you're bored and you don't really want to be here and you're just carting me around to keep me occupied. You've been super nice, but that's just how it feels," she finished with a sigh.

Inuyasha pulled into the parking lot in a stunned silence. Had he overdone the standoffishness? Really, all he had been trying to do was not scare her with how much he liked her. It was already scaring him. A lot. He knew she wanted to be friends, and he did too, but how could he let her innocently befriend him when he could not stop himself from having the thoughts that had been running through his head since her arrival?

"I'm sorry," he said honestly. "I just—I want you to have a good time. I'm not used to being, well, _nice_. But I want to be nice to you," he said awkwardly, cursing his current inability to not sound like some sort of weirdo.

"Don't feel bad," she said urgently, placing a hand on his knee in a gentle way that made him break out in a nervous sweat. This girl really had no sense of personal space. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable," he almost laughed out loud, "I just want us to be friends. Mother loves you and I want to see what she sees so I can love you too."

The sincerity in her eyes nearly overwhelmed him and he suddenly wanted to tell her the truth, the whole truth. About how her mother did not love him and he did not love her, that her mother was dying and had requested he care for her at least until she turned twenty-one and inherited Shikon. That even though she was fifteen and he was so old he had stopped counting the years, he wanted her with an intensity that was so strong and so sudden that he didn't trust himself around her. That even though he would hate himself if he ruined her innocence, that wouldn't stop him from staying by her side.

Instead, he said, "Thank you, Kagome. I think we've had enough serious talk, how about some popcorn?"

She smiled and nodded, removing her small hand from his knee and exiting the car. He sagged over the steering wheel in relief. His little crush on her was going to have to stop, and soon. Getting out, he caught up to Kagome who was already halfway to the theater, obviously excited enough to forget her timidity. He scanned the list of available movies as they waited in line, picking one with a title that seemed interesting enough. The ticket seller gave him an odd look, glancing between him and Kagome. He assumed it was because of the visible age difference (which only appeared to be about five years) and fought the urge to needlessly explain that she was his future step-daughter and they were definitely not on a date or anything. Inuyasha was grateful when they made it into the building without any of Kagome's sweet "Thank you, Papa Yasha"s. He bought her a soda, popcorn and some chocolate she had been staring at, and she was so in awe of the people, sights, smells, and sounds that she didn't even notice. Loading up on food for himself, he carried everything to the theater, almost becoming cross with Kagome when she followed slowly, looking at every poster and cardboard set-up.

He sat directly in the middle, waiting for her to catch up, hoping she would find him in the dim lighting. When she didn't show up in the next couple of minutes, he became worried and twisted around, hoping she was wandering the theater. What he saw made him go completely rigid. Kagome stood by the entrance, talking to a group of boys. Boys her age. They seemed clean cut and friendly enough, smiling at her and saying things he couldn't hear that made her laugh. She chatted back innocently, and he narrowed his eyes at her. She didn't know how boys thought, not like he did. They shared the same thoughts regarding her, it was obvious, but he was not going to touch her so she was better off in his company. She blushed at something the leader of the group said, smiling her angel smile and turning her face away, scanning the crowd for him without success. She looked beautiful, he thought angrily, and he wasn't the only one who noticed.

Inuyasha stood up suddenly, marching over to where she was unknowingly flirting with boys whose intentions were not pure, not pure like she was. He grabbed her wrist while glaring at the group of boys, who of course weren't man enough to stop him or even attempt to glare back. Kagome waved and gave them an oblivious goodbye, and he almost wanted to shake her. He settled with roughly dropping her snacks in her lap once she sat down next to him. As if on cue, the lights dimmed and the previews started.

"What were you thinking?!" he hissed in her ear, unable to keep silent.

"What do you mean?" She turned to face him and they were nose to nose. He could feel her breath on his chin and he shivered.

"You were talking to those _boys_ ," he spat the word out like it was something filthy.

"What's wrong with that? I need to make friends," she mumbled.

"It's just—I didn't want you to miss the movie," he finished lamely, unable to put his feelings into words or even want to.

"Well, I'm here," she smiled gently at him and he almost wanted to turn around and smirk in triumph at the idiots who approached her. Kagome was _here_ and she was with _him_.

She shivered next to him and he leaned down to whisper again.

"You cold?"

She was in that little dress without a sweater, and they really cranked up the A/C in theaters these days. She nodded and he put the arm rest/cup holder up, first grabbing his soda in order to not splash some unlucky person behind them. He scooted a few inches closer until their sides were touching. He wanted to put his arm around her or give her his jacket, but unfortunately he was her future step-father and he had not thought to bring any kind of coat. She seemed satisfied with just his nearness and snuggled into him while munching on her popcorn, eyes intent on the screen. Inuyasha smiled down at her, proud he could make her so happy in just a couple hours. Every day with him would be a day she'd never forget, he vowed.

Finally, the movie started, and immediately he knew he had made a bad choice. It opened with a man and woman furiously going at it in a way that looked much too real to his eyes. He glanced at Kagome, feeling guilty when he saw her mouth open, unmasticated popcorn in it, eyes wide and horrified. Quickly, he placed a hand over her eyes, muttering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," over and over again in her ear, his tone desperately apologetic. "This was supposed to be a comedy!"

He felt her hand on his wrist, her delicate fingers gently pulling his hand from her eyes. "It's okay, Papa Yasha. It's just a movie," she said in her sweet voice, although it trembled slightly from nervousness. He allowed her to remove his hand, accidentally brushing her cheek and feeling the heat from her blush. He cursed himself. This was probably the first time she had ever seen anything like that. He knew she was a virgin, she had to be, she was just so completely _virginal_. Had she had sex ed? Had Kikyo explained the birds and the bees to her? Would—his eyes widened in terror—would he have to explain now that he'd opened that door? What if she told Kikyo? He'd definitely be in for it then.

The movie went on and although there were no more bouts of impropriety, he could not laugh with Kagome and the rest of the audience due to the degree of his anxiety. He kept glancing at her, just to see if she was uncomfortable. It seemed as though she had gotten over it completely, even glancing back at him and able to make eye contact much more comfortably than he was, moving even closer to him to steal more of his warmth so very casually.

Finally, it was over, and they were the first ones out of the theater even though Kagome had said she wanted to read the credits. Inuyasha couldn't stand being in that place any longer, what with the bad experience of the boys flirting with her and then accidentally popping her sex scene viewing cherry. He was doing his best to not think about it but it replayed in his head over and over and he was ashamed that he had chipped away at her perfect innocence. She would always be an angel to him, though.

"How'd you like the movie?" she chirped, unaware of his anxiety, only wanting to fill the silence.

"It was… alright."

She laughed. "You didn't seem like you were paying attention. You were staring at me the entire time," her eyes twinkled as he gaped at her. "Don't worry, I won't tell Mother. It'll be our secret." She said the last part in a low voice that he found very appealing and he turned away in order not to let her read his thoughts in his eyes.

"What do you want for dinner? And don't tell me to pick," he said, smoothly changing the subject as he pushed open the double doors of the exit.

"I wasn't going to," she said testily. "Mother told me about your taste in food and I don't like noodles very much. Let's get burgers!"

He drove to a nearby burger place, ordering through the drive-thru. He had seen a lot of young kids Kagome's age inside and did not want a repeat of earlier. She did deserve to make friends, but he didn't think she should be having male friends any time soon.

They chatted over their greasy dinner about anything and everything. He found out it was Kagome's first time having a burger from a fast food joint and he promised to take her more often. The more she opened up to him, the more he liked her, even as he tried to find things to dislike about her. She was quick to anger, stubborn, occasionally obnoxious, sometimes childish. But she was so nice, and funny, and smart, and pretty, and beautiful, and adorable and that's when he stopped making a list.

"You said you wanted to be a nurse, right?" he asked, sipping on his milkshake. Their food was long gone and they had been talking for the past hour, mostly about her, but that was how he directed the conversation.

Her eyes lowered and she sighed. "Yes, but Mother would never let me. You saw how she was." She blushed, probably thinking about their last meeting when she had gotten upset and cried in front of him.

"I would let you."

"I know Mother loves you, but I don't think even you could change her mind on this subject."

"I'll find a way. Trust me," he smiled at her and she looked up at him, trusting him but afraid to hope. It made his heart melt. "What made you want to be a nurse in the first place?"

Kagome leaned her head back on the seat, staring through the foggy windshield into the recesses of her memory. "Mother Teresa. She was so loving and without a thought for herself, so strong. Everything I'm not. I wanted to be like her ever since we saw a documentary on her when I was seven."

"So you want to be a nun?" he teased.

" _No_ ," she laughed, playfully slapping his arm. "I just want to help people. I want to help them die," she flinched. "That sounds morbid. I want to make people as comfortable as they can be, give them the understanding and care their loved ones can't." She stared at him sadly as she finished, not seeing him but something in her mind. He had a terrible urge to kiss her at that moment and so he looked down at his milkshake, fiddling with the straw.

"You really are an angel," he murmured and she smiled at him. "You're going to be whatever you want to be. I'll run Shikon for you when Kikyo—when she decides to hand it over to you. You'll get a paycheck and everything, just go be what you want to be."

"Thank you," she whispered.

They sat in silence after that. Kagome had been trying to get him to talk about himself, but got the picture after he answered her questions with more questions and didn't press him. He wanted to tell her everything, to have this be a real getting-to-know-one-another thing rather than just what felt to him like an interview. But he had lived a long time and done a great many things, most of them things he didn't want her to know about. And that's what made him feel the worst, that he had only ever felt this way once before and it had taken quite a bit more time for him to feel it. Only with Kikyo, his first real girlfriend, had he ever felt so attached.

Inuyasha blew bubbles into his milkshake, listening to Kagome's soft giggle at his actions. He was in love with his teenage step-daughter.


	5. It Only Takes a Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Song for the chapter: I Wanna Be Loved By You by Helen Kane*

The drive home was quiet, with Kagome dozing off and him too stunned by the revelation that he had fallen in love with a girl after only meeting her twice to attempt conversation. He knew demons fell pretty damn fast, but how could it be love? Yet he was positive it was. It hadn't been this fast with Kikyo, although the strong attraction he had felt towards her had been immediate. He had heard of love at first sight before, but had always dismissed it as romantic bullshit. And honestly, when he first saw her he thought he was seeing Kikyo, a drastically younger Kikyo, but still Kikyo. Was that why? Did he feel this way because she looked so much like her mother? He shook his head violently. No, she was nothing like her. Kagome was small and soft and happy where Kikyo was tall and rigid and somber. He had loved her once, but that was a long time ago. What he felt for Kagome… it was as strong as what he once felt for Kikyo, but completely different. With Kikyo, he had been amazed someone actually wanted to get to know him instead of just fuck. She had seen him as a _person_ , and he could never forget that. But Kagome made him feel, well, young. Not in years, but in spirit. He was happy being with her. But he could never really be _with_ her, and that thought depressed him so much he almost missed the turn to enter the forest that surrounded his home.

He stared at the slumbering girl next to him as he took his keys out of the ignition. Inuyasha wanted to carry her, to let her continue sleeping, but that would be weird. Gently, he nudged her shoulder with the tips of his fingers, watching her slowly come awake and open her brilliant eyes to look at him. She smiled and stretched, and he concentrated hard on the window instead of staring at the way she arched her back and how her breasts strained against the cotton of her dress.

"We're home?"

He smiled, happy she had referred to his place as her home. "Yeah. Your new stuff should be up in your room. Did you… Did you have a good time?" he asked uncertainly, even though he had been so sure of her happiness earlier in the evening.

"Definitely," she sighed as she opened the door. "Thank you for being so kind, Papa Yasha. You're the most wonderful man I've ever known." She stared into his eyes seriously, a small smile on her lips, and he nearly melted into a puddle at her feet but decided that would be too awkward. Instead, he rushed out of the car and opened the door before she even approached the steps leading up to the porch.

Running to his room in order to not get pulled into another conversation with Kagome that would make him feel even more for her than he already did, he pounced through his door just as he heard her call out a soft "Good night". He felt incredibly guilty, but not guilty enough to go back out. Kikyo still wasn't back yet and Kagome would be all alone in a new house, all alone with only him there…

Inuyasha flopped face down on the bed, determined not to think anymore, just to get to sleep and stay asleep. He would _not_ leave his room, he would _not_ offer to help Kagome put her things away, he would _not_ pretend to innocently slink back to his room and instead stay outside until he heard her breathing slow, and he most certainly would _not_ use her as the star in his nightly ritual before he went off to sleep and ended up dreaming about her, which he would do because he wanted to and even if he didn't, his mind had a way of doing just what he told it not to so she'd probably be showing up in his dreams regardless. His thoughts in a jumble, he eventually drifted off to sleep, clutching a pillow to his chest that still had her scent on it.

He awoke earlier than he usually did on a Saturday, the sun having barely come up minutes before. Inuyasha assumed a sound had awoken him, so he trudged downstairs to check on what it was, eyes still blurry from sleep. He almost screamed when he saw Kagome bustling about his kitchen, wearing a very tight tank top and some shorts that would have been called underwear just a few years ago. He had forgotten about his new roommates.

"Making yourself at home, I see," he joked. She jumped, startled, and turned to look at him. All the cabinets were open as well as the fridge and freezer doors. She smiled apologetically.

"I was just checking to see what to make for breakfast, but there's literally nothing edible in here, just a few drinks," she said.

"You hungry?" he asked, yawning. He was not his best in the morning.

She nodded. "Are you?"

"Let's order a pizza, then."

"But… it's six AM."

"There's a place that delivers 24/7, don't worry about it."

"But… it's breakfast time."

"Do you want something else?" he questioned, suddenly feeling anxious. "I think there's a Chinese place that delivers at this time. Or we could go out again—"

"No, pizza's good. I'm just used to a more, um, regular routine."

"Alright. I've got my computer in my room, come up with me." He could have brought his laptop down, but he wanted her scent to fill his room once again. He lumbered back up the stairs, Kagome bouncing beside him.

"I think that every day with you is going to be filled with new things," she said happily.

He grinned. "I hope so."

He sat down on his bed, patting the space beside him, hoping she wouldn't gain a sense of propriety now. He wanted to be able to smell her on his sheets as well. She jumped onto the bed, no awkwardness, just innocence, and he smirked. Pulling out his laptop from under the bed, it was a quick few seconds before he was at the website he wanted.

"Since I eat a lot, we'll get two separate pizzas, alright? What do you want on yours?"

"Um, maybe, can you—"

"If you make me pick, I'll give you anchovies."

She scowled at him and grabbed his laptop, clicking a few times. "There."

"Pepperoni and onions? What?" He wrinkled his nose, imagining the taste on his sensitive tongue.

"You told me to pick. Now hurry up, I'm hungry," she said playfully.

"Whatever," he finished with the order and put his computer to the side. "It's Saturday. Do you want to stay in and be lazy or go out and do things?"

"Staying in and being lazy would be a new thing. I don't have any lessons today."

"You want to watch a movie? Or TV or something?" He couldn't really think of much else.

"Do you have any board games?" she asked.

"Board games? I don't think I've even played board games…" he trailed off.

"Me neither. But they always look so fun in commercials and stuff."

He nodded, agreeing with her. Inuyasha had never had anyone to play board games with, and even though he now had someone else who was interested in the mysterious world of Scrabble and Parcheesi, he didn't have a single one.

"I could call Myoga and he could bring us some," he suggested.

"Myoga is your assistant?" He nodded. "I don't think it would be good to wake him up so early."

He hadn't even thought of it being inconvenient for Myoga. They lapsed into silence again. Truthfully, he would be happy just hearing her talk, but if she wanted some entertainment then he would think of something.

"I know!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. "Do you have any pictures of you and Mother, like a photo album or something? I would love to see some of you together. Mother only had a few. You can tell me all about how you met and fell in love and all that," she smiled.

His ears drooped and he laid his head down on the pillow. What would he say to her? He didn't have any photos of him and Kikyo left, they had been tossed out long ago. He had no desire to relive the past, either. Their courtship had been very normal, the things he remembered most being the proposal and the break-up. And the sex, but of course she wouldn't want to know about that.

"Is Kikyo back yet?"

Kagome sighed. "Mother is still gone. I was hoping she'd be back by breakfast so we could eat together like a real family."

The doorbell rang, startling both of them, and he jumped up. "Can you hand me my wallet?" She reached for the black leather on the nightstand and her top rode up, exposing her stomach, which he admired with greedy eyes before she quickly tossed the wallet onto his lap.

"You should probably put some pants on or something before you answer the door," she said, eyes sparkling mischievously as she slid off the bed and exited the room.

He looked down to see himself only in his boxers. "Fuck," he mumbled, angry with his lack of modesty.

Again, they did nothing but talk about anything and everything, mostly about Kagome and her dreams and plans. Inuyasha tried to keep the information about himself to a bare minimum, only telling Kagome his age to see if it would disgust her. Instead, she was enthralled, and not like he was a curiosity or something. She wanted to know all about him, how he remembered certain significant historical events, where he was, what he was doing. He answered only enough to barely satisfy her curiosity, trying not to outright lie which was becoming harder and harder.

They spent all weekend alone with each other, ordering delivery and watching movies, but mostly just talking. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so happy. All good things come to an end, of course, and this good thing ended on Sunday evening with a call from Myoga.

"Sir, the Higurashi girl—"

"Kagome," he interrupted moodily.

" _Kagome_ will be attending Saint Angelus's High School tomorrow. I've emailed you her schedule. Her uniform should be arriving now."

The doorbell rang and he answered it, taking the plastic-draped clothes without even looking at the deliverer.

"So soon?" he asked, trying not to sound as disappointed as he felt.

"You told me to enroll her and I did so."

"Yes, but—Never mind, good work."

He ended the call, leaning against the door.

"Was that the Indian food?"

Kagome walked out to where he was, faltering a bit when she saw his slumped posture and sensed the general air of misery about him. He straightened, trying to recapture the mood they had shared all weekend. It was stupid of him to think he could keep her all to himself.

"That was just Myoga. Your new uniform is here."

She smiled, but he could feel her sadness and his heart soared. He tried to reason with himself that it wasn't because she wanted to stay with him, that she had enjoyed their time together so much she had begun to see him as himself and not just something attached to Kikyo.

"Oh… I-I'm scared," she whispered, eyes filling with tears.

This was definitely not what he had been expecting. Going to her, he gathered her in his arms, trying to make the hug feel friendly. They were friends, right? And it was just a hug, nothing wrong with that.

"What are you scared of?" he whispered soothingly.

"I just… I don't like being alone," she choked out. "People can be so mean, and being with you was so nice I almost forgot what it was like before."

"They'll love you," he protested. A mad urge came upon him suddenly. He wanted to tell her how he felt. But it was just so wrong and in any case far, far too soon. And he needed her friendship, he realized. If he lost her, the wound her absence would leave behind would be too great.

"I'm being stupid," she muttered, trying to smile but not succeeding due to the trembling of her lips.

"No," he said firmly. "No. Just be yourself."

"Will you—Never mind," she whispered, pushing away from him and turning to go upstairs.

"Will I what?" he asked urgently.

"Will you, um, drop me off? And maybe pick me up? It's just… I don't know anyone and you make me feel comfortable. I'd be a lot less scared if you saw me off the first time."

He had been planning on assigning her a driver, but he liked the idea of spending more time with Kagome, brief though it would be. It would take some rearranging of his schedule, but work no longer seemed so important. He smiled. "Sure. I'll be your chauffer for as long as you want."

She answered his grin with another one of her angel smiles. "Thank you, Papa Yasha. I'm going to go try on my uniform and see how it fits."

"Cool. Come down and show me after," he mentally slapped himself for how creepy that sounded, but she only nodded and skipped up to her room, coming back down mere minutes later in one of the worst excuses for a schoolgirl outfit he had ever seen. Clearly, the people in charge of her school were perverts. The skirt was short and pleated and green, barely reaching her thighs. The top was white and partially see-through, riding up when she put a hand on the bannister. The red tie drew attention to her breasts and the knee-socks she wore made the entire thing seem like a fetish costume. Or maybe the clothes were just fine and _he_ was the pervert.

"How do I look?" she asked, biting her lip worriedly.

Inuyasha could do nothing but stare, words gone. His body begged for action, but he still retained enough brain power to refuse it. How long had it been since he'd been with a woman, really been with one? Not since… Kikyo. The thought of her was enough to calm him down and let him breathe again.

"Uh, it's, uh—"

He thanked every god he could think of when the doorbell rang again. Grabbing the plastic bags, he thrust all the money in his wallet at the delivery boy, happy enough to kiss the kid's pathetic attempt at a moustache off. The guy looked down at the money in his hands, looked at the dazed expression on Inuyasha's face, and promptly took off, waving good night. He had gotten fifty dollars extra and morals be damned, he didn't want to give it back.

The few seconds he had spent at the door had been enough time to compose his features into a mask of reserved, polite, friendly, fatherly interest, hopefully one that would not make Kagome feel bad.

"It's too small," she muttered to herself, tugging on the hem of her shirt, making it even tighter around the breasts. His mouth went dry and he lost the words he was about to give her.

"You're beautiful," he blurted. And it was true. Those clothes didn't make her look beautiful, but she was in spite of them.

She looked up, surprised. "Th-thank you," she stuttered out. "No one's ever said that to me before," she said quietly, an awkward blush beginning to steal across her cheeks. It was so light it almost looked like a sun burn and he wanted to cup her face and feel exactly how warm she was.

"I can guarantee you'll be hearing it a lot more often," he said fondly. Then it occurred to him: she probably would be hearing it more often. Kagome had told him she had only ever gone to all-girl's schools before. Now she would be around boys, and she was sure to attract a lot of attention. Jealousy rose up in him and he had to stop himself from calling Myoga and have him pull her out. Going to this school meant a lot to her and he didn't want to be like Kikyo.

"I'll go change back into my other clothes," she said, drawing nearer to him. She reached out and pulled him into a hug, which he returned as best he could. "You change my life for the better every day. I'm so glad you're my father."

She ran back up to her room without another look at him and he dropped the food, hearing a styrofoam box or two break at the impact. It was hopeless. For once, he wanted something he couldn't have and he wanted it so badly he felt like screaming. It was just like him to fall into such a fucked up situation. And poor Kagome was ignorant of his feelings, the pure ones and the not so pure ones. He had not touched himself or sought out company since he met her, and although that was less than a week ago he was already almost foaming at the mouth with need. But he just couldn't do it. He could not dishonor her that way in his mind, and he could not dishonor her by being with someone else. He was stuck.

He didn't sleep at all that night. Kagome had chattered away happily during dinner, even giving him a kiss on the cheek when she went up to bed, which would have made him ecstatic under other circumstances. All he could do as he lay in bed that night was imagine her next to him, not daring to go farther than that. Being with her just felt so good and right. He was happy. But they could never be together. She didn't even want to be together.

He knocked on Kagome's door at exactly seven, knowing she was an early riser. He made a mental note to buy her an alarm clock or something before she got back from school. She declined his offer of breakfast, which just would have been microwaved leftovers anyway, and they set off, her anxious and excited and him pensive. The school was close by, only about fifteen miles from their home. They made it there in as many minutes. He pulled right up to the entrance, ignoring the angry looks from the students and adults he almost ran over when Kagome placed a hand on his knee.

"I'm so nervous," she confided. "I feel like I'm going to throw up."

"You don't have to go today," he said. "You can wait until you're more comfortable with the idea. I know it was sudden."

"No," she shook her head. "I'm definitely going. Wish me luck," she said with a smile. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek while he wondered whether or not it would be weird if he kissed her the same way.

"If you feel sick or need anything, just call me on my cell."

"I don't have a phone," she said, distracted. She was attempting to unbuckle her seat belt but it was caught on her backpack. He helped untangle her, indulging himself and reaching out to smooth her unruly bangs affectionately.

"I'll just put it on the list of things to buy so you can be normal," he teased.

Kagome shot him a playful glare and slid out of the car. "I'll be out at three," she called out.

He waved sadly at her, watching her bounce up the steps in that energetic manner only she had. Deciding to take off work, he sat in bed all day surfing the internet, trying not to worry about Kagome or wonder what she was doing. He called Kikyo as he had several times in the past couple of days, but her phone was still off and he was not very surprised to find he didn't care. He called Myoga and had him pick out a phone and computer and laptop for Kagome. After a nap, he saw it was almost time to pick Kagome up and he left, the anticipation of seeing her making him feel better than he had all day.

She was standing right where he had dropped her off, and he smiled at her although of course she couldn't see through the tinted windows. She jumped into the car, telling him in a happy tone all about her day. Without really listening to the words, he concentrated on her voice, feeling himself almost melt into the sound. Just a few hours without her after only knowing her for a few days and he was this affected.

"—and I made a friend. His name is Hojo and he's going to tutor me in geometry. He's really nice and—"

"Woah, wait. What?" he said, trying to sound calm.

"I made a friend," she repeated, smiling at him brightly. "His name's Hojo and he's going to tutor me."

" _He_."

"Yes. What's wrong?" she asked, confused.

"It's just—boys at this age are difficult to be friends with. When you're a girl, anyway."

She laughed. "Don't worry about Hojo. I've never met anyone nicer. He even gave me a present when he offered to be my tutor."

"A present?" he repeated, grinding his teeth. She had said _he_ was nice just yesterday. Did she just go around handing out compliments like that? "What kind of present?"

"A boring one," she replied, sounding disappointed. "But it's still nice. It's a book on foods that will help your brain work faster or whatever. I only read like half of the back cover."

Inuyasha relaxed somewhat. It wasn't flowers or chocolates or anything to be worried about. This kid was either an idiot or gay.

"So, did you have fun?"

"Mmhmm! It was nice. I almost never had friends before, especially when it was so late in the semester. But after Hojo started talking to me it seems like everybody wanted to be friends. I even got invited to a couple parties."

"That's wonderful," he muttered. There would be no more blissful weekends like the one they had just spent.

"I said no to all that, though. Mother would be angry. Besides, I would much rather hang out with you instead. You're more fun than all of them. I missed you today," she said right as they arrived at the house.

He looked at her, taking the keys out of the ignition. She was looking at him still and the silence filled the car. Time always seems to slow down when you're staring into another person's eyes. Kagome still had a small smile on her face and he wanted to take her into his arms and really welcome her home. She broke the spell by blushing and stammering out something about homework, leaving him alone in the car with nothing but her scent and that stupid book the kid had given her left on her seat. The fact she had forgotten about it so quickly made his heart leap in his chest. He would be able to be around her and not be with her as long as she wasn't with anyone. Grabbing the book, he stepped out of the car and threw it as far as he could, which was pretty damn far. Smiling to himself, he walked into the house, wondering what to order for dinner.


	6. Til the Sunrise

***Song for the chapter: Sunship Balloons by The Flaming Lips***

A week went by and they fell into a rhythm. Kagome now had a cell phone, which she used only as an alarm and an Inuyasha summoning device. Sometimes she called Kikyo, but she rarely ever answered. Since Inuyasha's ears were so sensitive, the alarm always woke him too. They would have microwaved leftovers for breakfast and then he would drop her off and wait around until it was time to pick her up again. They'd talk about her day over dinner and she'd kiss him good night on the cheek, sometimes on the forehead, and he would always hold absolutely still and close his eyes as she did so, which made her laugh. And then Kikyo came back.

It was right after he had picked Kagome up from school. He was perusing the take-out menus, debating the pros and cons of pizza versus sandwiches, when the door opened. Kagome was doing her homework out by the Goshinboku as usual, and she always used the back door so he knew it wasn't her. Confused, he stepped out to the entrance, wondering if it was Myoga or something. When he saw Kikyo, his heart felt like it was going to burst. There stood the first woman he had ever loved. He suddenly felt all the guilt over his desire for her daughter that he had so far managed to repress. How could he? How could he do such a thing to Kikyo?

She greeted him pleasantly, unaware of his internal struggle. "Ah, Inuyasha. Aren't you supposed to be at work? It's only four."

"I took off early," he muttered. In truth, he had not been to work the entire time Kagome had been living with him. He had dealt with everything over the phone and so far nothing bad seemed to have happened.

"Where is Kagome?" Kikyo asked, distracted. She had something on her mind.

"Out by the tree doing her homework. I enrolled her in—"

"That's nice. Are you busy?"

"I was just about to—"

Kikyo threw her arms around him and brought her face to his. Immediately, he saw Kagome with her Christmas angel smile and pushed Kikyo away, rougher than he had intended. She stumbled back, shock on her face. Quickly, she regained her bearing, becoming even more rigid than before.

"I want this to be a real marriage, Inuyasha."

He rolled his eyes. "You had your chance at a real marriage with me, Kikyo."

"Perhaps… Perhaps this was not the right choice."

"What do you mean?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"I _mean_ ," she hissed, "maybe it would be better if I just left. It's been a week already and you have made no progress with finding out who is after my company."

He winced. He had completely forgotten about that. "I'm sorry, Kikyo. Just give me a little more time—"

"I don't _have_ more time!" she screamed. "I am dying. I can barely manage to keep myself going with what little powers I have left. You were my last hope, but now I see I was foolish and regressing to the idiocy of my youth. I should just take Kagome and go back home. Suikotsu could convince his brothers to help me. He's a man who gets things done."

Inuyasha felt like he was going to have a panic attack. She wanted to take Kagome away. That couldn't happen. He couldn't go back to the way things were.

"Kikyo, I—"

"Save it," she said severely, turning her back to him. "I don't know if I'll be back tonight."

She went out the door and he sank into his favorite armchair. He looked down. The menu was torn to shreds in his hands, damp with the sweat from his palms. A need arose in him, a need to see Kagome, to reassure himself that she was still there. Running with inhuman speed, he made his way to the Goshinboku, Kagome's favorite spot. She was sitting peacefully, a look of concentration on her face, and he could breathe again. The dark sunlight from the sunset was on her hair, and if he squinted it looked like a halo.

Sensing him somehow, she looked up. "Papa Yasha!" she said, surprised and pleased. The expression on her face soothed him and he sat beside her. He usually never bothered her when she did her homework, even though he really wanted to, but this was different. He needed her.

"Kagome," he breathed, reaching a hand out to stroke her hair. He desperately wanted to feel her skin, to see if it was cool from the breeze or warm from the setting sun. He wanted to know exactly how soft she was.

"What brings you out here?" she chirped happily, closing her book.

"I—" He stopped himself.

"You what?"

"I… I proposed to your mother under this tree," he murmured, turning away from her to look up into the leaves.

"I know. That's why I like it here so much." He could hear the smile in her voice.

"I don't love her. I don't love her, Kagome," he said in a rough whisper. He could no longer keep it to himself.

She was silent for a few beats. "That's—No, that's not true. You're getting married!"

"She doesn't love me either."

She shook her head and he could smell the tears starting. "That's _not true_!" she yelled, scrambling to her feet.

"Yes, it is," he said as he stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders, giving her a mild shake. He didn't know why, but he was suddenly angry at her, at himself, at Kikyo.

"Then we're going to leave? We're going to go back?" she whispered, the tears finally spilling over onto her face.

"No, Kagome," he murmured soothingly. "I'll never send you away."

"So you're still getting married?"

He hesitated, then made up his mind. "Yes."

"But—but why? If you don't… And Mother doesn't…" Her tears began to fall faster.

"Kagome," he breathed again. He had somehow become so close to her he could see himself reflected in her watery, brilliant eyes. For the first time, he noticed the flecks of violet-blue in them. Without thinking, he closed the distance between them, pressing his wanting, seeking lips to her trembling ones. He saw her eyes go wide and then he closed his own, lost in the feeling of finally having her soft lips on his. Tentatively, he licked her lower lip, only coming back to his senses when he heard a soft sob come from his companion.

He pulled away quickly, hands still on her shoulders. Kagome's eyes were big and unblinking, and although her tears had stopped she was still breathing as though she were crying. A delicate hand came up and she touched her plump lower lip with a single finger.

"Is—is it because… I look like Mother?" she questioned softly. Without waiting for an answer, she wrenched away from him and took off, running madly toward the house.

Snapping himself out of his daze, he started after her. "No, Kagome wait!"

Cursing his thoughtlessness, he ran into the house, wondering why he was so slow. He should have been able to beat her there. Hearing her door slam, he hastened his pace, tugging on the door knob only to discover it was locked.

"Kagome! Kagome, I'm sorry. Open the door, we need to talk!" He knocked, but there was no response. Inuyasha began to worry. Did she hate him now? Would she tell Kikyo? Frantically, he turned the knob and knocked again. "Kagome, open the door or I will break it down!"

Nothing. Silence.

"I'm really going to do it!" he threatened. Still nothing. Taking a deep, agitated breath, he backed up and rushed the door. Right as his shoulder made contact with the wood, he felt a rush come over him and he realized: it was the night of the new moon. He was human now. And the doors were very solid.

"Fuck!" he yelled. His shoulder throbbed painfully and he knew he'd have a nasty bruise there until he regained his demonic healing abilities.

"P-Papa Yasha? Are you okay?" he heard Kagome say from behind the door. Finally, she turned the knob, her worried expression changing into one of fear as soon as she saw him. Screaming, she slammed the door in his face.

"Wait, it's _me_! Kagome, it's me. Inuyasha."

The door opened again, slowly this time. She was holding her phone in one hand, a lamp in the other, and dropped them to the ground with a loud bump as she stared at him. "Is it… really you?" she whispered. He nodded.

"What happened to you?" She reached a hand out toward him and stopped, quickly bringing it back to her side.

"All half-demons have their night of weakness. A night where they turn human," he sighed. "Only you, your mom, and Myoga know about this. It's a secret, okay? Don't tell anyone."

"I miss your eyes," she whispered suddenly.

He looked at her in surprise. "I—thank you. About earlier—"

"Don't worry, I won't say anything to Mother."

"No, that's not it," he insisted. "I want to apologize. I'm so, so incredibly sorry. I don't know what came over me," he lied. He really wasn't sorry. How could he be sorry for something he'd wanted so badly? If he was sorry about anything, it was her reaction.

"That… was my first kiss." She touched a finger to her lip again, looking bewildered. Her eyes met his, confusion still in them. "It was nice. Thank you?"

He covered up his glee with a laugh, saying, "You're welcome. And I'm sorry about trying to break your door down like some kind of freak. I always get kind of emotional on my human nights. So… what do you say we order pizza?"

Her lips slowly formed a smile and nodded, telling him to pick whatever and going back into her room. Kagome was obviously still confused about the whole situation and unsure of him now, but he could not for the life of him let himself feel bad. He had finally kissed her, and it was perfect. Well, not _perfect_ , since she had kind of just been standing there shocked and unresponsive, but it was sweet and nice. And it had been her first kiss. You never forget your first kiss. Inuyasha smirked to himself.

Dialing Kikyo's number, he made his way downstairs to his favorite chair. He hadn't expected her to answer, but she did. He almost hung up, not having a speech prepared.

"Er, um, hey Kikyo!"

"I assume you've called to apologize," she said icily.

"Uh, yeah. It's just… things are moving really quickly between the two of us. You… you really hurt me, Kikyo. I can't just pick up where we left off. I need time," he murmured, trying to sound sincere.

Kikyo sighed. "I understand. But I really want this to work, Inuyasha. I need this to work. I want to make things right. Let's have our wedding on January first."

He froze, his tongue feeling like a rock in his mouth. That was only a few months away. "Sure. I've got to go now. Bye."

She murmured her farewell and he hung up, feeling numb. It was late October. January first? The day she left him? But if he married her, he could keep Kagome. He would do anything to keep Kagome, especially now.

He ordered their usual and the pizza arrived quickly, as it always did. Inuyasha suspected he was their main client. He rarely went out and never cooked. Kagome quietly made her way downstairs, obviously having heard the doorbell. She was dressed in her pajamas although it was still early.

"I, uh, got the usual thing," he muttered.

"Thanks."

"I really don't want us to be awkward," he said desperately, his voice sounding too loud in the echoing, empty room.

"It's not," she said quickly. Too quickly. He gave her a look and her shoulders slumped. "Okay, it is," she took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "You're my best friend. I'm not going to let anything ruin that."

The emotions rushed through him so fast he didn't even have time to identify them. "You're my best friend, too."

They stood just looking at each other, both wondering what to do and how to act. Finally, Kagome broke the silence. "Let's eat!"

He nodded and turned on the TV, flipping it to a cartoon he found entertaining for some reason. Kagome sat on the couch next to him, closer than she ever had before, obviously determined not to feel awkward. They ate in silence, both pretending to be watching the goings-on of the poorly drawn characters.

"I'm uh, going to go to bed," she announced, standing up. "Will you be up much longer?"

"I never sleep on my human night," he muttered, mouth full of pizza.

"Oh. Do you…want me to stay up? Keep you company? It's Friday so it won't be a problem."

Glancing up at her, he saw her shy sincerity. "It's okay. I'm used to going it alone."

She huffed and plopped back down next to him. "Saying something like that just ensures I'll stay by your side."

Surprised, he put down his pizza and was about to protest when she gave him a stubborn look and he knew anything he said would be useless. "Thank you," he said quietly, placing his clawless hand on one of hers.

She stared at him, a look of wonder on her face. "You… Wow, everything's so different but still the same."

"How so?" he asked, genuinely curious. He had never really bothered to examine himself during this time, being angry it existed in the first place. Usually he did everything he could to forget he was experiencing it.

Kagome blushed. "Your eyes. The shape is the same and I can still see you in there, your soul, but the color... I just associated the color gold with you so much that it's shocking. But the color you have now is still so beautiful. It's black and gray and purple, even."

"Go on," he smirked, enjoying her innocent fascination.

Giggling, she ran her fingers through a lock of his hair that was now as dark as hers. "I loved the way your hair was before, but this is nice, too. I never noticed before, but your hair is so weird. I think we have almost the same haircut. Your bangs are so like mine. They're kind of all over the place. Did you cut it yourself after seeing a Zooey Deschanel movie too?"

They both laughed, their previous awkwardness forgotten, the experience only bringing them closer. Suddenly, she grabbed his hand, and he became self-conscious, worrying that he had grease on his fingers or sauce under his nails. He wasn't the neatest eater.

"Are your claws really, really sharp?" she murmured, the pad of her thumb running over the edge of his now flat pinky nail.

"Sharp enough," he said hoarsely. The gentle way she cradled his hand made him ache, body and soul, for her.

"Sharp enough to what?" she asked, eyes meeting his.

"To kill," he confessed in a whisper.

Kagome smiled. "Now you're just trying to scare me. I don't believe what some people do. I don't think you're a killer just because you're built like one."

Inuyasha said nothing, and eventually she drifted off to sleep, her head on his shoulder. He stroked her hair in the dark, forcing himself to remember the face of every life he'd ended in order to remind himself of why he wasn't good enough for her and never would be. He ran through them and wasn't even half-way done when the sun came up.


	7. Shame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: You guys are so stingy with reviews. I am a delicate flower, and if I am not showered with compliments, I shall wither and die. Do you really want that on your conscience?
> 
> *Song for the chapter: Shame by PJ Harvey*

Kagome led her guest into the house, holding his hand since he was walking slowly, distracted by everything. Hojo had promised to tutor her today. She had told Inuyasha that morning that she would be getting a ride home with a friend today, and although he looked disappointed she knew he had been wanting to get back to work and put in a full day for a while. Hojo had his own car, and while it wasn't the flashiest thing on the block, it was still nice. Kind of like its owner, Kagome mused to herself, immediately feeling guilty.

"Would you like anything to drink, Hojo?" she asked, remembering her manners. The brown-haired boy smiled vaguely at her and grinned.

"Whatever you have is fine with me, Higurashi," he said pleasantly. She smiled at him while wondering if he even knew her first name.

"Let's see," she said, peering into the refrigerator. There were a few cans of beer, a now flat half-empty bottle of soda, and what appeared to be a pitcher of something. "We've got, um, iced tea?"

She grabbed the pitcher and placed it on the counter, reaching into the cabinet below to pull out two glasses. Pouring a generous amount into each glass, she handed one to Hojo and took the other for herself. He took a sip, immediately grimacing.

"Th-this isn't iced tea," he choked out.

Kagome sipped from her own glass, confused, her expression soon matching his own. It had sure looked like iced tea. But it tasted like something else. It was gross and it burned her throat. She put her glass down and wiped her mouth, sticking her tongue out and making a gagging noise. Hojo laughed and she took his hand again.

"Let's go up to my room," she said, followed by a giggle. Suddenly everything seemed hilarious.

"Sure, Kagurashi."

Inuyasha left the building an hour early, speeding back home. Work seemed so boring and tedious now. He knew it was because of Kagome. He regretted allowing her to get a ride home without even knowing who her friend was. And he missed her. He preferred sitting around and waiting to go see her again to sitting around and barking out orders while pretending to go over paperwork.

There was an unfamiliar car in his driveway and he considered "accidentally" scratching it with his keys, but then decided not to take his frustration out on some poor kid's shitty property. It wasn't their fault he was in love and in a hopeless situation. Feeling generous, he pushed open the door, immediately bounding up the stairs when he heard Kagome moan loudly from her room. Was she hurt?

Wrenching open the door to her room, Inuyasha walked in on the last thing he expected to see. Kagome was on her back on her cloud-like angel bed, legs hanging off the edge, her nearly sheer uniform blouse unbuttoned all the way and falling off her shoulders. There was a mousy-haired boy in between her breasts, muttering something about love and iced tea. Neither of them even noticed his presence until he roared, "What the _fucking_ fuck?!"

The boy turned around and Inuyasha wasted no time, immediately punching him in the face, barely remembering to hold back at the last second lest he kill him. The kid didn't even attempt to fight back, so he took pity and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him out of the room and down the stairs, tossing him out the door.

"If I ever catch you around Kagome again, I will rip your fucking throat out," he growled. The boy, obviously getting the message, struggled to his feet and weaved back to his car.

Spitting on the ground to express his disgust in a crude habit he had not indulged in decades, he ran with inhuman speed back to Kagome. His anger fled when he saw the dazed look on her face, as though she had been drugged or—

"Kagome, what did you do?" he whispered with concern, sniffing around her, his nose answering his question. She had found his "demon juice". It was a special alcohol made for demons by demons since regular alcohol didn't do the trick with their metabolism. Kagome, not knowing what it was, had consumed it and now she was drunk off her ass. This was all his fault.

"He asked to kiss me, Inuyasha," she murmured lazily. His eyes shot to hers, shocked she had used his actual name. Kagome was still half-naked and not at all concerned about that, leaning back on her elbows and looking down at where he knelt before her. "You didn't ask. I like your way better."

"Kagome," he whispered. He felt incredibly guilty for again tarnishing her perfect innocence. Actual foreplay was so much worse than just glimpsing a sex scene in a theater. What would Kikyo say? His gaze traveled down to her breasts, where the boy's saliva still glistened. Intending only to remove every trace of him, Inuyasha reached out with both hands and, without thinking, ran his thumbs over her nipples, wiping the clear substance off. She moaned and arched her back, whispering his name. Glancing back up at her, shocked, he stared into her darkened eyes. They demanded something from him, something he knew a lot about and she didn't. Entranced, he repeated the movement of his thumbs, this time slower and with a longer stroke, caressing her. She bit her lip and urged him on with her gaze.

Unable to fight his own desires any longer, he rose up and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her the way he really wanted to. She was sloppy and inexperienced but he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was that she was responding. Her arms circled his neck and he pressed his entire body into her, running his hands up her thighs and sides, memorizing her smoothness.

"Inuyasha," Kagome moaned, kissing along his cheek and jaw. There was a fire in her eyes now, one that matched his own, and he pressed his clothed erection into her, delighting in her surprised gasp. Kissing and licking his way down her body, he soon arrived at her breasts and introduced them to his tongue. She arched her back into his mouth and pressed down on his head, begging him without words. Placing a gentle kiss on the nipple he was currently toying with, he sucked hard several times, ears twitching when she practically screamed at the new sensations, then he switched to the other. Her hips sought what he had to offer and she brought them up repeatedly, rubbing against him.

He felt her hand trail down his side, pausing to sneak under his shirt and lightly touch his abdominal muscles before she shocked him and boldly ventured into his pants, grabbing his cock and touching it just so. His surprise at her actions brought him back to reality and he yanked himself off of her, disgusted at the way he had eagerly almost raped his step-daughter. A part of himself whispered that she had wanted this, whispered to him that all he had to do was look at her and take a deep breath to reassure himself, but he shook his head. She was young, she was intoxicated, she didn't know what she was doing whereas he did.

"Um, Kagome, I'm going to get you some water and let you take a nap, alright?"

She rose up onto her elbows again, the peaks of her breasts this time shining with his saliva, something he took a sick pride in. He was standing just at the edge of her bed, in between her spread legs which were still hanging off the bed, her feet almost touching the floor.

"No," she said stubbornly, almost yelling. "You kissed me before and you touched me today _and_ kissed me. You can't just run away after that."

"You're drunk," he said urgently, continuing when she shook her head. "You had some of my special liquor. It's really, really, really strong and even a sip would make a human completely inebriated."

"I am not drunk and you shouldn't use such big words," she said, wrapping her legs loosely around him.

He knew he should untangle himself from this mess, but the way she was looking at him turned him to stone. Kagome kept eye contact with him as she reached down, slowly, and lifted up her skirt. His gaze followed her movements and he watched, fascinated and more aroused than he could ever remember being, as her slender fingers pushed the tiny scrap of white cotton that was her underwear to the side and fluttered down along her slit, coming back up to rub her clit.

"I want you to keep doing what you were doing," she said.

He nodded, hypnotized by the sight of her touching herself in front of him. He fell to his knees, pushed her hand out of the way, ripped off her panties, and took a long, slow lick from bottom to top. As expected, she tasted divine. She shivered and he licked her again and again, driving his tongue into her while rubbing her clit with a clawed finger, then he switched and stuck his fingers into her hole and licked and sucked her clit. Kagome squirmed and moaned, panting his name. When she was close, he withdrew his tongue from her and rose up to kiss her, his fingers still at work. He pushed her down from her elbows to her back as he shoved her shredded panties into his pocket, the force with which he did so making her eyes open. Leaning on his own elbow, he stared into her eyes, his free hand coming up to toy with her nipple, pinching and tugging on the rosy little nub.

"Cum for me, Kagome," he said in a low, hoarse voice, barely holding back a growl, not wanting to scare her.

She obeyed with a loud cry, clenching around his fingers rapidly, covering them in her cum. He watched her face, studying its every detail. Her eyes were shut tight and her nose was wrinkled, the few light freckles she had, which he was positive no one else besides the two of them noticed, now nowhere to be seen. Her upper lip trembled and a tear released from each eye, running down her temples and into her midnight hair. The face she made when lost to pleasure fascinated him and he wanted to see it again and again and again. Shuddering almost violently, she reached and held his hand that had been playing with her breast, twining their fingers together, her eyes opening and the look on her face confused, pleased, and startled. Inuyasha kissed her deeply, mentally rejoicing in his success. Not only had he given Kagome her first kiss, he had given her her first orgasm as well. She had been so tight around his fingers and had always behaved in such a way that he now knew for certain she was a super virgin. She had never even touched herself.

Their kiss became more gentle and soft as he tried to communicate his feelings of love to her using only his lips. He took his fingers from her, amazed she was still experiencing aftershocks, and broke the kiss, intending to tell her everything.

"Kagome," he whispered, staring into her still dazed eyes. "I—have to go."

He was up and out the door before she could say anything, closing it silently behind him as he sped toward his room. Slamming the door, he fell to his knees with his back still against it. What had he just done? There was no way that things could stay the same after this. He was a terrible person.

He continued berating himself as he reached down and unzipped his pants, pulling out his throbbing cock and stroking it, remembering how Kagome's hand had felt in the brief instant she had touched him there. Licking his lips, he tasted her juices, growling as he recalled what he had just done. He fumbled around in his pocket until he grasped the small piece of cloth he had stored there just minutes before. He pressed it to his nose and inhaled deeply, then brought it to his mouth and licked the crotch more savagely than he had Kagome. Switching hands, he sucked on his still wet fingers, letting out a groan that almost sounded pained as he came, hard, shuddering just as Kagome had. He looked at the mess in front of him, fingers still in his mouth. He had never cum so hard or so soon just from masturbating. Tucking his now flaccid cock back into his pants, he collapsed on the bed face down, too unsure of himself to even move, her ruined panties beside him.


	8. Poison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Thanks for all the reviews! I urge you to keep it up. They make me super happy, and I like to know what you're thinking when you read. It's a huge help and your encouragement means absolutely everything. This story's a bit of an embarrassment, and all the kind words make me want to come back and post another after this one is done. =]
> 
> *Song for the chapter: Poison by Meg Myers*

Inuyasha was still afraid the next morning, trying not to remember what he had done to Kagome yesterday as it only made him more anxious and aroused. He wondered if she'd even remember. Not remembering would be worse than remembering, and the thought almost made him hyperventilate. The worst part was that he didn't really regret it. She hadn't been truly present and participating, he knew that, but that experience with her was more than he had allowed himself to dream of and he would take the memory to his grave, one brief moment of… he didn't know what to call it, but he knew he'd think about it every day until he either died or went crazy.

He waited until he heard the front door close, signaling that Kagome had called a car and left for school. Cursing his cowardliness, he slipped out of his room only to come face to face with the very one he was trying to avoid. How the heck did she do that? They stared at each other, and despite his guilt and previous attempt at avoiding her, he was glad to see her. Not daring to take his eyes from hers, he leaned back on the opposite side of the door he had masturbated against the night before, allowing her to make the first move.

"We need to talk, Papa Yasha," she said.

He flinched. So they were back to that. At least she didn't sound mad. Kagome broke eye contact and walked downstairs, expecting him to follow. She led him to the sitting room and gestured toward his arm chair, taking a seat on the sofa for herself. It was all so formal he almost wanted to laugh, but decided it was best not to under the circumstances.

"I believe we can both agree that what happened last night was a mistake," she said primly, doing her best impression of Kikyo. He rolled his eyes.

"Cut the shit and be yourself, Kagome," he spat out, suddenly upset. A mistake? Maybe for her, but she had enjoyed herself regardless.

She glared at him, tears forming in her eyes. "Don't act like you know me," she hissed. "We've hardly met and we've already—already—"

"Look, please don't cry," he pleaded. "I'm sorry, and I know that's not enough, it can never be enough."

"What will Mother say?" she whispered, horrified.

"Nothing. Because we're not going to tell her, okay? Neither of us wants that," he said urgently.

"But how—Alright," she nodded, following with a sigh. "I'm sorry, too. This never would have happened if I weren't so stupid."

"You're not stupid. This was all my fault! I should have thrown that drink out before you moved in."

"What did you do to Hojo?"

"Is that the boy you… you were with?"

Kagome blushed. "Yes. I need to apologize to him, too. This is all so terrible."

"I showed him the door, then I went back to take care of you," he muttered, his poor choice of words making him blush as well.

Kagome fidgeted nervously in her seat, biting her lip like she had before until she noticed how his eyes were drawn to it. "Um, I'm late for school, so I'll just…"

"I'll take you."

"No, it's fine," she insisted, not looking at him.

He sighed. "I'll drop you off just this last time, okay? I'll get a car for you from now on. I think it's best if maybe we stopped hanging out so much. I've been… attracted to you ever since I first saw you," he finally confessed, feeling his heart twist in his chest as she turned her face away and appeared to be trying not to listen. "I'm sorry I took advantage of your vulnerability like that and I understand if you don't want to be friends."

"You're still my best friend," she said, eyes on her feet. "I just think we need to, like you said, not hang out so much. We spent a lot of time together and it was obviously unhealthy and we formed attachments we shouldn't have. I don't want you to feel so bad about yesterday because," she closed her eyes, "because I liked what you did to me even though I knew it shouldn't have happened. I—I think you are very nice and handsome and just great and when you—when you _touched_ me like that…" she stopped, absentmindedly pressing her thighs closer together and touching her lips. "I'm sorry. I just like you so much," she finished in a whisper.

"We should probably get going," he said hoarsely.

Kagome nodded and grabbed her school bag, awkwardly brushing past him to the door. They spent the entire ride in silence, each going over the words the other had said and storing them away in their hearts. He dropped her off without a goodbye and immediately went into work, an hour early and completely furious. Inuyasha had just lost the one bit of goodness in his life and although it seemed like she reciprocated his feelings to at least some degree, there was no way she would allow them to be together. And he could understand, really. If anyone else knew about what they had done they'd think it was disgusting, but knowing and feeling are two very different things.

Apparently, to Kagome "we shouldn't hang out so much" meant "we should never ever ever talk again ever for the rest of forever". It had been days and he had barely seen her. She had even bought groceries, instructing her driver to take her to a store after school one day and using the card he had given her for emergencies. He guessed this could be seen as an emergency from her point of view, but now he didn't even have the excuse of asking her what she wanted for dinner in order to see her, hear her. Inuyasha now moped about whenever he was at home, wanting to just sit next to her and listen to her voice but not able to even have that much. She would cook dinner, leave him a plate, and take her food up to her room immediately. He considered hiding all the food so she'd have to talk to him, but he knew she was stubborn and would probably starve before knocking on his door.

He kept the underwear he had taken from her in a plastic Ziploc bag in his briefcase, sometimes pulling it out at work and sniffing it, other times just staring at it. He had stuffed it in his mouth so many times that it smelled more like him than her, and he now regretted all his enthusiastic jacking off sessions, although that didn't stop him. He hadn't slept since what happened with Kagome, and it was beginning to wear at him. As a half-demon, he could survive without sleep for much longer than an ordinary man, but the way things were going he was thinking of getting some demon-strength sleeping pills.

What helped keep him up at night was the knowledge of what Kagome did right before she went to sleep. He had stumbled upon it a couple nights after what happened. Stopping before her door on the way to his, he lingered, imagining her tucked away in her cloud bed, dreaming of whatever angels dream of. That was when he heard a small sigh, one that immediately tipped him off to what she was doing. Mourning his inability to see through walls, he jammed his ear against the door to better hear her gasping breaths and sweet moans. Reaching into his pants, he jerked himself quickly, trying to catch up with her. It was just a few seconds later that he heard her climax, saying his actual name, not that stupid nickname, in a loud whisper. He came as well, answering her by whispering her name into the door as quietly as he could.

Kikyo came back from wherever it was she had gone. She always said she was at work, but he smelled sex on her and knew she had been with a man, most likely that Sui-whatever guy she had told him about. Again, she tried to engage him in a battle of tongues, but he refused her, gently this time, reiterating his lies about being hurt and needing time to heal when really he was just not the kind of man to kiss a woman after his mouth had been on her daughter's pussy. Kikyo was vain enough to believe it and happily went about working and her not so secret rendezvous with that doctor guy. She was hardly ever home and he doubted she had ever even slept in the twin bed he hadn't bothered replacing.

On one of her visits, which always seemed to be when Kagome was not around, he asked her what he'd been wondering for some time.

"Uh, Kikyo, is Kagome on, er, birth control?"

Kikyo looked at him sharply, suspicious. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that she has this boy hanging around her all the time now and I was thinking that they might, uh, do stuff," he muttered, the words tasting bad in his mouth.

She laughed. "Kagome? With a boy? They haven't shown any interest in her, so I'm surprised. Thank you for telling me, Inuyasha, but you don't have to worry. I put her on birth control immediately when she started her first period. She complained of her cramps so much that it was nearly unbearable for Urasue, so we thought it best to just reduce the amount of times per year we'd have to suffer through that."

"Wow, um, okay." He filed the information away for later, trying to suppress his disgust at Kikyo's actions.

And then Kagome broke the routine, as he had been hoping she would, although it was not in the way he wanted. She brought home a boy, the same one that had been on top of her, the one that had been spending time with her since the first day of school. Hojo. He smelled him as soon as they entered, his fangs baring and a growl making its way out of his throat. Inuyasha had stayed home from work that day, hoping for a glimpse of Kagome before she shut herself up in her room for the night. He usually got back too late to see her cook and do whatever else she did. Kikyo had not been back since yesterday and he assumed she was actually working since she had seemed quite occupied and had not even wanted to chat.

Immediately he was before them, his posture and gestures saying "welcoming, benevolent host" but his face screaming murder. He glared back and forth between them, his gaze softening somewhat as he looked Kagome up and down, taking in the sight of her and enjoying it immensely.

"Hojo is tutoring me," she explained calmly. "I told him what happened."

When his eyes widened, she quickly sputtered out, "N-no! What happened with the drink! Why he and I were acting that way!"

Inuyasha relaxed and Hojo looked at him, confused by the conversation and scared. There was still a bruise on his face and Inuyasha smiled, proud of his work. The boy knew what he was capable of. He wouldn't overstep his boundaries. It looked like Kagome had dragged him there almost against his will, anyway. The kid hadn't said a word and his hands were shaking. He was too afraid to even look at Kagome. Even though he observed all this, it didn't stop him from feeling insanely, incredibly, intensely jealous. He still wanted to rip the kid's throat out.

"Fine," he nodded, seeing the look on Kagome's face. "But stay at the kitchen table. And tutor her for real this time," he added with a growl.

"Y-yes, sir!" Hojo yelped.

Sitting down in his chair, he heard Kagome offer him refreshments and Hojo decline rather loudly. They launched into the tutoring session and soon he was bored with eavesdropping as they were only talking about math. He kept one ear trained for any unusual sounds and went back to his laptop, reading over some messages from Myoga involving Shikon. Every sabotage had been performed so skillfully that it was nearly impossible to figure out who had done it, but Inuyasha believed Kikyo when she said it was Onigumo. Destroying him was even more important now that Kagome was in his life. He didn't ever want her learning what her father was like or even that she had a father. He would be the only man she needed, in whatever capacity she required.

Finally, he heard Hojo stammer out a goodbye and Kagome walk him to the door, shutting it with a sigh. She made her way to where Inuyasha was now pretending to work, heart beating in anticipation of actually talking to her for the first time in days. He was torn between disappointment and excitement when she bent over in front of where he was sitting, attempting to get a schoolbook of hers that was under his feet on the coffee table. She stumbled over her own feet and fell, palms smacking the surface of the table. Her skirt rode up a bit too high and what he saw made him choke. She was wearing a tiny, little thong. Had she dressed for Hojo? Had she counted on Inuyasha not being there? Had he ruined her plans?

Those thoughts coupled with his jealousy and lack of sleep made him so angry he growled, coming to a sudden decision. "Come here, Kagome," he said in a low voice, shutting his laptop and tossing it on the floor to the side of his chair, not caring if it broke.

Startled at the sound of his voice, she turned to him, obeying without thought. He was pleased. If she had ignored him, things would have become much, much worse. Kagome stood at his side and he could feel her curiosity and reluctance. He said nothing and just as she turned to leave, he grabbed her wrist, dragging her face-down across his lap.

"What the fuck is this, Kagome?" he hissed, bringing a hand up to her rear and stroking the skin around the thong. She responded immediately, pushing back into his hand, her wetness making the underwear damp. However, she said nothing, and actions weren't enough this time.

"I asked you a question," he said calmly, bringing his hand down on her perfectly round, lily-white bottom with a loud slap.

"Ow!" she yelled, trying to turn her head and look at him. "That _hurt_! What are you—"

He slapped her again on the other cheek, this time squeezing her afterward. "Just answer the question, Kagome," he whispered, running his claws gently down the line of her thong.

She shivered and said, "I don't—"

Two slaps.

" _Fine_! I picked it out when we went shopping that one time. I liked it so I got it," she muttered into the armrest.

He slapped her again, hitting both cheeks at once, enjoying the way her flesh jiggled and changed colors to a very becoming red. "Why'd you wear it today?"

"I just felt like it."

He slapped her again.

"Ow! What was that for? I answered the question!"

"I just felt like it," he smirked.

Kagome tried to turn over but he kept her down across him, her struggles stimulating his erection. She stopped trying to get away when he began to run a finger down along her thong, ripping it off with a claw and quickly stuffing it in his shirt pocket. He ran his hand over Kagome's cheeks, hearing her breathing quicken and become heavier, the sensations she felt on her sensitized skin completely new. Her wetness dripped onto his pants and he stuck a finger in her, both of them moaning at the feeling.

"So good," she whispered. Inuyasha nodded even though he knew she couldn't see. He withdrew from her, ignoring her cry, and flipped her onto her back on the coffee table. Leaning over her, he kissed her lips tenderly, apologizing, then allowed himself to be dragged into her much more frantic and impassioned response.

"I want to be with you, Kagome," he whispered into her hair. "Really be with you. I don't want to be friends or your step-dad or anything else."

"Me too. Or me neither. You know what I mean," she whispered back, grabbing him by the hair to give him another kiss with her already swollen lips. He broke apart with an abrupt movement and stared down at her lustily.

"I'll 'tutor' you, Kagome. I'll teach you things you only dreamt about. So ditch the kid and leave your schooling to me."

She bit her lip and nodded eagerly, not really paying attention to his words, wanting him to continue. Smiling, he kissed his way down her body, nipping at her breasts and swirling around her nipples with his tongue until she begged him to go lower. He complied, using his fingers and tongue to bring her to orgasm, her hands fisted in his hair as she humped his face. When she calmed down, he kissed her again, slowly and lovingly, supporting her head with one hand and caressing her breast with the other, trying to ignore his own burning need as he sought to arouse her again. She wasn't ready for all of him yet, but he'd work on her until she was. He sealed the promise to himself by giving Kagome a hard kiss and gently biting her lower lip while pinching her nipple, making her moan and arch into him.

He could wait.


	9. Tear Us Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are the Nutella to my graham crackalackas.
> 
> *Song for the chapter: Never Tear Us Apart by INXS*

Inuyasha and Kagome established a routine. He would "tutor" her, with faux punishments for little things, such as dropping several cartons of take-out on the floor and not cleaning up the mess (which only happened because he was sucking on her neck with his hands squeezing her breasts from behind) or being what he deemed too clumsy, frequently tripping up the stairs but never down, thankfully. The punishments, which were always followed by him either licking her or fingering her to an intense orgasm, consisted of love bites and more spankings, and Inuyasha began to suspect she would slip up on purpose just to get his hands on her, which he would love if it were true. Her little mistakes were just made so naturally that he could never be sure if it really was her way of instigating one of their tutoring sessions.

One evening, as he was bringing her to another shuddering release on the floor of his room, she reached down and grabbed him through his pants. He tore his lips from hers and withdrew his fingers, looking her in the eye with something akin to shock. Sure, she had touched him that first time, but since then she had not made a move toward his lower region. Flinching, he looked down on her apologetically, seeing the curious look in her eyes. He had thought she wasn't ready for him, but he wasn't ready for her.

Kagome reached down again and he grabbed her wrist, stopping her. He moved away and looked down, but not soon enough to avoid witnessing the hurt look in her eyes.

"Y-you don't want me to touch you?" she whispered. "I thought…"

"It's not that," he muttered, scooting away. "I just—Fuck, it's one thing for me to do these things to you and another for you to do them to me."

"What do you mean?" Anger and confusion mixed in her tone and he looked up at her, his eyes pleading for her to understand the words he wasn't sure he could get right.

"You're so young," he said, wincing when his voice came out louder than he had intended.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Have you just realized that? Come on," she murmured, crawling on her knees toward him, suddenly seductive. "Let me touch you back. I want to feel you."

She kissed him and he let her, but stopped her hand when it again drifted toward the obvious bulge in his pants. It was so very difficult for him, but he could endure. Even if it was true he was so aroused these past few days with her that he had cum in his pants multiple times already and jerked himself off even more. Inuyasha was nearly constantly aroused, but he couldn't let Kagome take care of that for him. Like he had told her, it was one thing for him to bring her pleasure, but a completely different thing for her to pleasure him. He would feel as though he were defiling her in some way. Although he _did_ want to "defile" her in the worst way, he thought it best to wait awhile at least, to give her time to change her mind.

"Just let me take care of you, okay, Kagome?"

He could tell she wanted to refuse by the stubborn set of her jaw and the glare she was giving him, but he was touching her in all the right places and she had been so close before the interruption. Nodding once, she rose to her knees in front of him, hands on his shoulders as he sucked on a nipple greedily and plunged his fingers in and out of her, soon feeling her clench around him as she brought his lips up to hers for a kiss. The kiss was deep and forceful on her end, like she was telling him that this wasn't the end and she'd get her way sooner or later. He sighed and carried her to his bed, plopping her on it and turning off the lamp, silencing her complaints about homework with a kiss and a growl.

Kagome continued to beg to reciprocate and he continued to deny her, each time being harder than the last (both figuratively and literally). She pouted and got angry, but he was firm and attempted to distract her with his talents. Inuyasha was secretly pleased that she wanted him so badly, almost as badly as he wanted her. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if the situation was reversed, but he guessed he probably would have forced his way much more violently than she was attempting to do. All in all, it just made him love her more.

Things continued like this and the self-imposed chaste frustration was driving him crazy. They were in the parking lot of Kagome's school, and even though they had left early she was now going to be late. She was grinding against him in his lap in the driver's seat and kissing him passionately, whimpering and drenching the front of his pants. His hands were roaming her ass and he felt her lack of panties, something that made him buck up and press her down onto him.

"Fuck, Kagome, you're not going in to school like this."

She gasped and rolled off of him. "You're right! I better get going. I can't afford another tardy."

Stunned, he watched as she grabbed her garish yellow backpack and exited the car, forgetting to shut the door in her haste. Inuyasha cursed himself for speaking. He had meant that he wasn't going to let her go inside without undergarments, not that she should hurry up. Resigned, he leaned over to shut the door when his eye caught a flash of yellow in the space between her seat and the door. It was Kagome's lunch bag, the one that matched her backpack. He didn't know why she insisted on making lunch when every morning he offered her money to buy a meal. An idea popped into his head and he smiled, grabbing her bag and following after her.

He burst through the double doors and started tracking her by scent when he was stopped by a burly woman with an angry glare. Self-consciously, he tugged his shirt down, hoping it was long enough to cover the wetness Kagome had left on his pants but not daring to look and possibly draw her gaze to it.

"Sir, only parents or guardians are allowed beyond this point, and only then after checking in at the main office."

Inuyasha shot her a glare of equal vehemence and won, the woman looking away uncomfortably. "I'm a parent, or uh, guardian. My step-daughter," the word tasted bad in his mouth, "forgot her lunch." He held up her bag as proof.

She looked him up and down doubtfully. "You can leave that in the main office along with her name and we'll make sure she gets it."

"It's fine, I can give it to her."

"You're still going to have to sign in at the main office, sir," she said testily, her glare creeping back.

He sighed in frustration. "I'm a busy man and I just want to give my step-daughter her lunch, okay? I won't even be five minutes."

"I cannot disobey school rules—"

"Then can you point me in the direction of the main office?" he growled angrily.

She nodded and turned, giving him directions complete with unnecessary hand gestures. "Go right back out those doors and head left…"

Inuyasha used his demonic speed and made his way further into the school, sniffing out Kagome. Her trail ended before a door and he looked in through the small window, seeing her rapidly take notes as her teacher droned on and on about whatever and her classmates whispered to each other or slept. He tapped a claw on the glass and she looked up, the only one to do so. Smiling, he held up her bag and she looked at him gratefully, mouthing a thank you. She raised her hand and Inuyasha heard her ask to use the restroom. Her teacher rolled her eyes and told her she didn't have to ask in a way that suggested they had already been over this a few times before. Kagome bounced out the door and over to him, reaching out for her bag only to have him raise it above his head and far out of her reach.

"You left your lunch in the car. Being forgetful is a very bad thing and I don't want you to make a habit out of it, Kagome," he said in the tone he always used when "punishing" her.

He watched her gulp, the lust-crazed girl who had been grinding her bare pussy into his denim-covered erection just moments before now replaced by a shy, blushing schoolgirl.

"Not here," she whispered, her eyes searching the hallway for anyone who might have heard.

Inuyasha smirked and ran his claws through her hair, rubbing the back of her neck. "I heard you ask your teacher to use the restroom. Lying's bad, too."

She shivered and closed her eyes, and when she opened them he saw the girl who was his lover looking back at him. "We don't have a lot of time. Come on."

Kagome grabbed his hand and tugged him towards a flight of stairs, running up them and then down a quiet, unlit hallway to a lonely corner of her school. She turned abruptly and opened a door even he had not seen that was sandwiched between two trophy cases. Her lips were on his and he nearly fell backwards into the handicapped stall, accidentally biting her lip and making her moan loudly into his mouth. The sound echoed in the room and they both quieted, their heavy breathing continuing as neither of them could do anything to stop that.

Inuyasha pushed her up against a wall while he pulled off her school blouse, flinging it to the side. Yanking down her bra, he broke away from her mouth to watch her breasts bounce from the violence of his actions. Kissing her once more, he turned his attention to her breasts, pinching her nipples, licking them, biting down gently and then finally sucking them hard, the way she liked. She arched her back against him and could not hold back her cry of his name.

" _Inuyasha_!"

Although hearing his real name from her lips always made his heart leap, he kissed her mouth roughly to remind her of their location. Kagome moaned quietly in apology and wrapped her arms around his neck. Deciding it would be best if he kept his mouth on hers, he instead tugged at her nipples with one hand and with the other stroked the outsides of her thighs around his waist. Drawing back from her and dropping her to her feet, he kissed her once gently and then grabbed her hand, placing it over her mouth. Inuyasha knelt before her and spread her legs a little further, cupping her mound and teasing her with the palm of his hand while the tips of his fingers rubbed her entrance. He looked up at Kagome to see her with her clenched fist in her mouth, biting down on her knuckles, her rosy nipples glistening in the fluorescent light. Deciding to make it quick and forego the spanking so he could get her back to class on time and hurry back to the car in order to temporarily relieve the almost ever-present ache he possessed, he devoured her pussy, growling low so the vibrations would speed up the process. He grabbed her knee and placed it over his shoulder, changing the angle and making her squirm against his face more actively. Cupping her ass, he pressed her into his face and sucked on her clit, finally feeling the gush of wetness that signaled her release and drinking it down. Panting, Kagome slid to the floor, her legs twitching beneath her. Inuyasha licked his lips and stood as he looked at her, memorizing the sight in order to recall it in perfect detail back in the car.

"Please, Inuyasha, let me touch you," she whispered, rising to her knees.

"Fuck, Kagome, not again," he said, despairing when it came out like a whine.

Her small hands gripped both his front pockets and she brushed her lips across his jean-covered erection. "But I've been bad, Papa Yasha. So bad. You're going to have to punish me."

"Er, it's okay. No need," he squeaked. What was making her act like this? Her voice was low and throaty, not at all like it normally was, although it turned him on just as much. His eyes went wide. The laptop. Kagome had never used a computer before and he had taught her the basics, introduced her to the internet. She had been spending most of her free time online lately. Had she discovered porn? Is that why she had been begging lately?

"But I didn't wear any panties," she murmured, rubbing her fingers lightly over his crotch. "And I was late and forgetful. I deserve a _big_ punishment."

Lulled by the sound of her voice, he didn't react immediately when she quickly undid his jeans and roughly yanked his cock out, making him choke on a gasp and then moan. Growling, he pulled back on her hair, trying to force her to look him in the eye and stop what she was doing. All he managed to do was make her whimper and gently lick the pre-cum off the tip.

"Please, please fuck my mouth, Papa Yasha," she said shakily in a voice that was more like hers. Normally when she said that name and reminded him of their other relationship, their step-daughter and step-father one, all his excitement vanished, but the way she said it now evoked a dark lust and had him trembling. He could hear and smell her desire. She wanted this almost as badly as he did. Inuyasha had always been kind of meh when it came to dirty talk with previous partners, sometimes feeling nothing, sometimes feeling awkward, sometimes being turned off completely. But when the dirty words came from Kagome's mouth, his cock reacted strongly, and he bucked his hips into her waiting mouth without thought.

"Fuck, Kagome," he hissed. Even though he could feel her gag and struggle to take him in and her teeth grazed him more often than he would like, the knowledge that it was his cock in Kagome's mouth had him nearly cumming, and when her tongue swirled around the head twice, he did. Her eyes went wide and she pulled her head back and up, looking on dazedly as he continued to cum uncontrollably on her breasts, licking the semen from her lips and swallowing. When it was finally over, he fell to his knees in front of her and kissed her softly in thanks and apology.

"That… You were wonderful, angel."

She looked up at him shyly, a pretty blush on her cheeks. "It wasn't bad? I didn't hurt you or gross you out?"

He chuckled, "Nah, you were great. And I should be asking you that. Sorry that I, uh, made a mess…on you," he finished lamely, gesturing toward her chest.

Kagome blushed darker. "I meant to swallow it all but I got so surprised. I didn't think it would be so soon."

Now he was blushing as well. "Um, normally it isn't. Not for me, anyway. I can't speak for other guys. I was just really, well, you know. After these past couple weeks with you…"

She kissed him on the cheek and smirked. "I know."

"Let's get you cleaned up."

He walked out of the stall first and peeped out into the hallway, checking to see if the coast was clear. Pressing his back against the door, he whispered, "Now."

Kagome rushed out to the sink and hurriedly splashed herself with cold water, shivering from the temperature. Inuyasha bit his lip and tried to look away from her pebbled nipples, knowing they didn't have enough time to get him off again. After rinsing her mouth a few times, she grabbed a handful of paper towels, quickly and efficiently drying her chest off and tugging her blouse back on, fixing her wavy mess of hair and smoothing her skirt.

"How do I look?" she asked, coming over to where he was and placing her hands on his chest.

Inuyasha stared at her seriously, taking in her charmingly mussed hair and flushed cheeks, swollen lips and bright eyes. In that moment, he wanted to tell her that he loved her, but he knew humans moved slower and he didn't want to scare her off.

"Like you just let a guy eat you out in the bathroom," he said huskily, hoping his adoration didn't show in his eyes and tip her off.

Kagome smiled and gasped, swatting his chest playfully. Reaching her hands up, she placed one on each side of his face and jumped up to kiss him.

"I wish we had longer, but class is almost over and I have to go."

He ran his fingers through her hair like he had done earlier, marveling at its softness. "No worries. I'll pick you up same time, same place. Okay?"

She kissed him on the cheek in agreement and went straight out the door, this time remembering her lunch.

On the walk back to his car, he licked his lips over and over, tasting Kagome and wondering if she was doing the same thing and thinking of him. He felt his cock stir again and he almost groaned aloud when there was a touch on his shoulder. Immediately, he froze, fearing the wrath of the main office lady he had ditched earlier. Turning, he was confronted instead with a short, burly man in coveralls.

"Um, yes?"

"You're that Taisho guy, right? The rich business one?"

Inuyasha nodded, confused. He was rarely recognized, and if he was it was mostly by eager young businessmen at conventions or other half-demons who would congratulate him on his work. He couldn't think of a reason why a middle-aged man in coveralls would know who he was.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the janitor, but that's not important. Does everybody know you like to fuck high school girls?"

Time seemed to stop as he stared at the smirking man, who pulled a tape recorder from the front pocket of his outfit.

" _Please, please fuck my mouth, Papa Yasha_."

It was Kagome's voice, obviously, during that special, private moment they had shared just minutes ago. And this fucking pervert had it all caught on tape.

"Nobody else has to know, Mr. Taisho. I can keep my mouth shut for a million."

Fear fled and was replaced by shock and outrage. This pudgy little fuck wanted a _million_ of his hard-earned dollars? Fuck no. He felt the rage build up in him and he forcibly calmed himself down with breathing techniques he had learned over the years. Sometimes his temper got the best of him, and if that happened here he'd have hell to pay. And what about Kagome and her reputation? And, oh _fuck_ , Kikyo? What about her?

"Look, I'm a nice guy. I'll give you ten thousand, how about that?"

The man's smug smile dropped off his face and he scowled. "No fucking way am I settling for a measly ten thou, you half-demon bastard. I know you're loaded, stop being so goddamned fucking stingy!"

Inuyasha was finding it increasingly difficult to control his temper. "Alright then, _five_. What were you doing with a tape recorder in the fucking girl's bathroom, anyway? Pervert. And seriously, a _tape_ recorder? What the fuck is this, Watergate?! It's the twenty-first century, asshole."

"What I do is none of your goddamned business, scum. Especially when you're fucking some teenage whore and making her call you 'Papa'. Calling me a pervert? Fuckin' hypocrite. If this is Watergate, I'm definitely not Deep Throat."

Something in him snapped when he heard the man call Kagome a whore. He knew many people would see her that way, especially considering their relationship and age difference, but as for him being her step-father, that was just something he did out of obligation to his first love. As for the age-difference, he had stopped aging at twenty-one, when he reached his peak, so his real age wasn't apparent until he told people, which was usually when their jaws would drop in horror and/or sick interest. So yes, their relationship was pretty inappropriate, but he truly did love her and he was not using her like some sort of fuck toy, so she was _not_ a whore. Inuyasha's jaw clenched as he remembered the names his mother was called by both humans and demons, even by those among their own family. Kagome would not suffer the same way.

Plastering a smile on his face, Inuyasha said smoothly, "Fine. Why don't we discuss this someplace I'd be more comfortable. What do you say to lunch?"

The man nodded eagerly and clapped him on the back, saying something that Inuyasha laughed at but didn't hear. Leading the man to his car, which he had parked in a far corner of the parking lot due to his and Kagome's earlier activities, he looked around and sniffed for a presence, stopping when he was satisfied there was no one.

"—and so that's why I was thinkin' maybe cheesesteak, 'cause I can never turn down a fuckin' cheesesteak, but you know what I—"

His claws silently cut through his throat and he watched the janitor bleed out, his eyes looking all around them, perhaps searching for help. Inuyasha felt like laughing but decided to be more respectful, since this was the only funeral the man would have. Quickly, Inuyasha searched through his coveralls for the tape recorder and pocketed it, then grabbed his arms, ignoring his pathetic twitching, and dragged the janitor over to a nearby manhole, lifting it up with ease and then kicking the barely alive man inside. Only then did he let the laugh out, and it was short and quiet. He laughed at his victory, at the thought that this pathetic human among pathetic humans had thought to blackmail him, at the fact that this janitor was now among the piss and shit and vomit that had been his life and would now be his death. Replacing the manhole, he walked back to his car, stopping at a planter to scoop up several handfuls of dirt to cover the few spatterings of blood that had fallen to the ground. Wiping his hands on his jeans, he sighed, wishing he could tell Kagome about this act which proved his love for her as much as he wished he could tell her of that love, but he knew she would be horrified at hearing either. Inuyasha sighed and drove home, deciding to skip work and wait around for Kagome instead.


	10. Lasting Treasure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: So yeah, this is moving super quickly, but again, I intended to go back and expand. This is just a rough rough draft. I got tired of this story really fast, and maybe I'll go back and work on it someday (not likely), but I don't want anything to do with it right now and I've always lacked attention to detail while also being very impatient with myself. There are probably some typos and inconsistencies. I can only go over it so many times (like, maybe one?) before it starts to all blur together and I don't notice mistakes.
> 
> I'm currently writing another InuKag story and it's more toned down (for me, anyway). That's the reason why I only update on Monday and Friday, so I can work on the other story and have it ready hopefully as soon as this one is completely uploaded. Otherwise, I would have posted this all at once. I only read completed stories myself (unless they're super super good), and I think a lot of you are like me. Again, every review, even those that just say "good update soon plz" is something I treasure. I'd like to give a special thanks to Rochoa and Keichanz for reviewing so wonderfully over on Eternal Destiny. I've been a super big fan of them both since I discovered the world of InuKag fiction.
> 
> Before I got into fanfiction, I never wrote anything over seven pages, and that was for school. I'm not even into anime, but I got a terrible ear infection last summer and couldn't even move my jaw and I was pretty much bedridden from the pain for weeks. I had Inuyasha downloaded on my laptop for a few years, and I finally decided to watch it when I ran out of movies, just for old time's sake and the fact that it had subtitles so I could mute it and still know what was going on without suffering, and I instantly became absolutely obsessed. When it ended without a big enough romantic pay-off, I was forced to read fanfiction, something I hadn't done since I was fifteen and reallyreallyreally into My Chemical Romance. I started writing the first chapter of Strictly Taboo in October, and then abandoned it until December.
> 
> I don't know why I felt like putting this here, since it seems like something that should go with the last chapter, but I'm feeling chatty and I'm bored in the cafeteria so whatever, most of you guys don't read these because it's not a sex scene, which I am so tired of, by the way. I may or may not be giving away secret plot points in the songs. Just saying. I have been totally foreshadowing an event this entire time and so far nobody has commented on it. Either you really didn't pick up on it, or you are being polite to your fellow readers and don't want to spoil it, or you don't want to review, or you're being considerate and letting me think I'm a mastermind, and if the last one is the case, I would like to say thank you and ask you to be my new mom. Also, don't spoil the secret. Let the fact that you're a super sleuth on the level of Sherlock remain your little secret, you sly fox(es).
> 
> Anyhoo, I've always had a bad habit of wanting to squish my male and female lead together and have them be happy right off the bat, which is a mistake a lot of authors make and one I'm not even going to attempt to avoid at this point in my "career". I know it makes absolutely no sense, but this is my stupid first full-length fanfic and they are going to bone when and where I tell them to bone because I am a lonely college student who has sworn off relationships until graduate school because real life boning makes me distracted and ruins my grades and isn't nearly as fun as imaginary boning. That said, there will be no boning in this chapter. Why do I keep saying bone? This note is almost longer than the chapter, yeesh. Anyway, we have quite a bit to go before we get to the end of Strictly Taboo, and I hope you guys stick around. =]
> 
> *Song for the chapter: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles*

Kikyo was back more and more and Inuyasha was quickly losing his patience. Kagome never wanted to be intimate with him when her mother was in the house, which was completely understandable, but it was torture for him to see her and not be able to touch her. He didn't want to go to her school either, not after what he had to do last time, but it had been so long since he had tasted her and he was seriously considering it, damn the consequences.

"…And so now I only have the flowers left to worry about. Are you listening, Inuyasha?" Kikyo said irritably.

He nodded absently and once again tried to pay attention to what Kikyo was saying about their wedding. Christmas was only a few days away and that meant their wedding was in almost a week. They would be getting married at the shrine Kikyo's family owned but no longer inhabited and the honeymoon would be at Inuyasha's old beach house, something he had bought on a whim in the seventies and hardly bothered with since. He and Kikyo had spent an enjoyable weekend there once, right before they broke up. He supposed that was why she wanted to go back. He was less than thrilled about it, considering how their relationship ended.

In fact, he was less than thrilled about the whole thing. He tried his hardest to get at least a little excited for the wedding, but he just couldn't. Trying to recapture his old feelings for the frigid woman just left him feeling sick and longing for Kagome even more. Lately, she hadn't even been speaking to him or her mother. She just stayed up in her room, doing homework or whatever, and when he dropped her off and picked her up it was the same. She claimed she was tired, so they couldn't fool around in the car either, also she was worried about her mother noticing even a hair out of place. He shook his head angrily. When had he gone from thinking of Kikyo as Kikyo and instead started thinking of her as Kagome's mom? It was impossible for him to think of her as anything else, even when he brought to mind their history. It was like another lifetime, and he felt like a completely different person. All he felt towards her now was a faint fondness and a desire to make her last days happy ones. And fuck, he was marrying his kind-of-sort-of girlfriend's mother and it was kind-of-sort-of freaking him out.

"Hey Kikyo," he said abruptly, cutting her off in the middle of whatever she had been saying.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" she hissed, obviously upset.

"Let's bring Suikotsu on the honeymoon."

She stared at him, shocked into silence. "You want to—"

"No, not _that_ ," he said quickly, understanding what she had been thinking. "I just meant, like, at least one of us should have fun on our honeymoon," he muttered.

"That's nice of you, Inuyasha. I will consider it."

"And we could let Kagome come too," he said, trying to make it seem like an afterthought when really it was the only thing he wanted. "She's gonna be out of school anyway, we might as well take a family vacation."

Kikyo frowned. "I had planned on letting Urasue watch her. She's known Kagome since birth and the girl probably misses her."

He almost laughed out loud, thinking of all the horror stories Kagome had told her about the drunken old woman he had met only once. "I think a change of scenery would be nice for her."

"I suppose you're right. The two of you have been spending a lot of time together, after all."

Inuyasha chuckled nervously. "Yeah, we're pretty good pals. It's important for me to study the younger generation and observe trends and things like that." And study he did.

Kikyo nodded reluctantly. "The two of you could keep each other company while Suikotsu and I catch up. We haven't had much contact these last few months."

His brow furrowed. "Haven't you been spending the weekends at his place, at least?" He had assumed she'd been living there. She had only spent a handful of nights in his house.

"I've been planning our _wedding_ , Inuyasha," she spat out. "I did not have much time to spend with a man who does not want it to even occur."

"I-I'm sorry, Kikyo." He had given very little thought to what her life was like, even going so far as to forget about her for hours at a time. Guilt flooded through him and he watched as she held back tears, something he had never even associated with her.

"Good," she grumbled. "One of us should be."

Christmas came and he wrote Kikyo a check for five thousand dollars, certain her tastes had changed and not knowing what she'd like. She wasn't there to receive it as she was spending the holiday with her boyfriend, making Inuyasha swear again that he would not tell Kagome about it. He was puzzled as it seemed she only really cared about Kagome when it came to secrets or accomplishments. Inside, he was glad they had not married all those years ago and had children, as it would be them he'd see suffering now. Seeing Kagome quietly accept that her mother would not be there to celebrate her favorite holiday tore at his heart, too, but still, he was glad he had dodged a bullet. A bullet which was more like a boomerang, when he thought about it.

Since Kagome was very much into Christmas and she had reminded him of a Christmas angel the first time he had seen her and now thought of it as her day, he decorated the house in an over the top fashion. It was covered in lights even though they were in the middle of the woods and nobody else could see them, but to him and Kagome that just added to the beauty of it. It was theirs. They had a pine tree inside the house, which he and Kagome had decorated extensively with lights and newly purchased mismatched ornaments and candy canes and even strings of popcorn which he had never seen anyone actually do outside of old cartoons. The pile of gifts he placed under it towered to nearly its middle, and he worried he had overdone it and that it would scare her off, so he took away half and saved them in his closet for her birthday, painstakingly rewrapping them in different paper since originally they had been covered in little pine trees and snow men.

Kagome was off from school for a long while, until the second week of January, and he was so happy he sometimes forgot to breathe. She was still somewhat standoffish even after Kikyo left again, although she did allow him to kiss her and touch her over her clothes under the tree a few times. On Christmas Eve, she had agreed to once again sleep in his bed beside him and he thought their activities would extend beyond a simple goodnight kiss, but no such luck. Still, he was happy to hold her and smell her and love her.

The morning of the holiday, Kagome woke him up with a deep kiss, completely taking him by surprise as he always woke up before her when they slept together. She straddled his stomach and her hands were tracing the edges of his ears lovingly.

"Come on, Papa Yasha," she whispered. "Presents!"

He groaned and dragged her back down to his lips, kissing her slow and sweet, just enjoying the dull minty taste of her mouth and the feel of it. "What time is it?"

"Almost six!" she chirped happily, kissing him along his brows.

"Ugh, fine," he mumbled grumpily and sat up, inwardly eagerly anticipating the look on her face when she opened his gifts.

Suddenly, she flung her arms around his neck and pressed her face into his shoulder. "I didn't get you anything," she whispered regretfully, giving him light kisses along his collar bone.

"That's alright, Kagome," he soothed, embracing her. "I didn't expect you to, anyway. It's not like you have a job or anything, and I'm pretty much your only mode of transportation. Besides, you can be my present," he finished with a grin that could be heard in his voice. He was enjoying all the kisses she was giving him after so much time with hardly anything.

She laughed and playfully bit the side of his neck. "I am, then."

They ran down the stairs hand in hand, laughing like young children did, until Kagome nearly tripped and he decided to carry her, tossing her over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes and ignoring her happy shrieks, bouncing her a few times and squeezing her bottom as she laughed until she was gasping for breath.

He plopped down in front of the tree and settled her in his lap, not even bothering to hide his erection. Kagome, of course, noticed and sent him a heated look before grabbing the box closest to her and opening it. She shook it and her brow furrowed when it didn't make a sound.

"What is it?" she asked.

Inuyasha laughed. "It's right in front of you, Kagome, just open it. And hurry up, there's a ton of these things."

She looked at him, confused. "You want me to open all of them?"

"Well, yeah. They're all for you."

She gasped and her eyes widened. " _All_ these?" she squeaked.

He nodded. "We're pretty much the only people here. Who else would they be for?"

"I-I thought maybe for Mother, or your work friends, or maybe even decoration, but not all for me…"

"Everybody else has their gift, now hurry up and open yours," he muttered, kissing her directly behind her ear and inhaling her scent.

"Alright," she said, still unsure. Carefully, she slowly opened the package, being sure not to tear the paper. Amused, but quickly becoming impatient, he grabbed her hands and brought them up to his face, placing a kiss on the back of each of them.

"I like that you're sweet and gentle, but it's just paper. Rip it apart!"

"But, the memories—"

"You're not going to save pieces of paper, Kagome. I don't want us to end up on Hoarders," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Fine," she said sharply, ripping into the box. Stunned, she pulled out her gift. "Is this—"

She held up the nearly completely transparent pair of panties, her mouth open and gaping. "There's a hole in it…" she muttered.

"They're supposed to be that way. These're crotchless panties," he whispered into her ear, running his claws up and down her arms until she shuddered.

"But…why?"

He shrugged. "I always thought they were hot."

"Are all my gifts lingerie?" she asked, her voice rising. He flinched.

"Not _all_ of them. I got you other stuff. I just thought it would be nice if—"

"You don't think I'm pretty enough already?" she said, her voice trembling. Crap.

"Fuck, no—You're beautiful! I think you're the most beautiful girl in the world," he said sincerely. "I think about you all the time, and sometimes I think about what things like this would look like on you, not what you would look like in them." She stared at him, confused, so he continued. "What I mean is that you make them look good, not the other way around."

"It's... a little much right now. But thank you for thinking of me."

Inuyasha felt worse with each present Kagome opened. True, not all of them were sex-oriented but a good deal were. He had also bought her some stuffed animals, since she had once mentioned she always dreamed of having a big bed full of them. There were some earrings and bracelets and other girly stuff, too. But it seemed as though every other box contained something she'd rather not be touching. There were cupless bras, dirty dice, a copy of the Kama Sutra, a sex bingo game he had found online, hand cuffs, corsets, garter belts with lacy garters, and a door jamb sex swing. So okay, maybe he had gone a little overboard. Her face turned redder with each gift she opened and by the time she was done, he felt like a complete asshole. He didn't want to rush her or anything. In fact, it was mostly his hesitation that prevented them from going "all the way".

They sat in front of the fading fire, surrounded by mountains of cheery printed paper and enough items to stock their own sex shop. Cautiously, Inuyasha took Kagome's hand, pulling her up without a word. Ignoring her questions of where he was taking her, he led her outside, directly in front of the Goshinboku.

"I can't see a thing out here in the dark," Kagome huffed irritably. The sun had only just risen and the thick foliage all around them prevented the little light there was from filtering through.

"Let me fix that for you," he murmured, letting go of her hand and reaching down to plug an extension cord into a power strip. The ancient tree lit up, and Kagome gasped in awe and delight, seeking out his hand and gripping it tightly.

"Oh, it's so beautiful!"

"Yeah," he whispered, bending down to kiss her cheek. "Kagome… The wedding is on the first. That's coming up really quickly."

She glared at him, as if upset he had ruined the moment. "I _know_! You don't have to remind me all the time."

"Well, do you know that I don't really want to do this?" he said roughly. "I wish I could live every day alone with you and not have to care about anything else."

"You don't have to!" she yelled, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "We could be together! Let's just run away. I'm tired of all this."

He was stunned. He had not even considered that thought, and it was quite an appealing one. But if they ran away tonight, would she still feel as passionately for him in the morning? Or would she grow resentful and put all the blame on him, pushing him away until there was nothing left to save? And what about Kikyo?

"I want to be with you," he said softly, placing his hands on hers on his chest. "But you and I both care about your mother too much to do that to her."

There were tears in her eyes and although she made a valiant effort at holding them back, they spilled over onto her face. "So you'll sneak around with her daughter behind her back and that's alright, but you can't have a legitimate relationship with me because _that_ would hurt her? Doesn't that just make everyone miserable but you?"

Inuyasha flinched. "It's not like that. I just don't want you to end up hating me."

She scoffed and turned to leave, but he caught her by the hand, not letting go even when she tried to wrench away from him so hard he thought her wrist would break. Ceasing her struggles, she allowed him to pull her into his chest and wrap his arms around her.

"Are you serious about me?" He almost didn't hear, what with how quietly she spoke and the fact that her words were muffled by his chest.

"You're the most important person in my life," he whispered back.

"How can I believe that? We only met a couple of months ago, for one. And then there's everything else…" she trailed off, not wanting to list the many details that made their being together so very inappropriate.

"Things go faster with demons. I don't need to know every detail about someone to know whether or not I like them. I just know."

"When did you know that you…liked me?"

"Within the first ten seconds of meeting you," he said truthfully. "It was never that fast with anyone before. Not with me, at least. When did… When did you start to like me?"

He felt her smile into his chest and that made him smile as well. "Right away. I was pretty obvious about it. But I didn't _like_ you like you until you kissed me. It was such a short moment, but I started to feel all these things and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest…"

She brought her head up and looked into his eyes dreamily. Her gaze was so tender that he couldn't not kiss her, slow and soft and sweet.

"I have one more gift for you, angel."

Kagome smiled and narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "Another weird sex thing?"

"No," he said seriously, suddenly nervous. He reached inside his pocket and felt around for the small object he had not bothered to put in a box. "This was my mother's ring, one that my father gave to her. It's one of the only things I have left that belonged to her."

Inuyasha slipped it on her left ring finger quickly, not giving her time to refuse it, although the look on her face didn't seem to be one of rejection.

"Oh god, Inuyasha, it's beautiful," she said, her voice full of emotion. She examined it on her finger, admiring the gold band studded with jade and tiny pearls. "So delicate. Are… Are you sure you want me to have this?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm sure. My mother told me to give it to the woman I cherished above all others. Who else would I give it to?" She gave him a pointed look and he flinched. "Not her. I never even showed this to her."

"Why not?" she asked, genuinely curious.

He shrugged. Honestly, it had never occurred to him to give it to anyone before now. He was very careful with the few possessions he had that belonged to his parents and just giving them away, even to someone he cared deeply for, seemed almost sacrilegious. But with Kagome, it just felt right. It was a way for his mother to watch over the woman her son had chosen, to guide her and tell the world she belonged to someone.

"Accepting this ring comes with a promise, Kagome," he said, staring into her eyes. "You're promising not to leave me and I'm promising not to leave you, okay?"

She nodded. "I promise. But how? You're getting married in just a few days!"

"I'm committing myself to Kikyo in order to commit myself to _you_. Think about it, Kagome. What happens if I turn her down? She'll leave and take you with her and we won't be able to see each other. If there was another way, I'd do it."

"Don't you feel guilty?"

"Do you?" He avoided the question, since he had a feeling that there was no right answer.

A few more tears fell and she laid her head on his chest again. "Only when I see her. But she's never around anymore."

"This is going to work, Kagome. We're going to make it work." Inuyasha kissed her and they looked at the lit up Goshinboku one more time before heading back to the house, hand in hand.


	11. Body and Soul

*Song for the Chapter: Body and Soul by Billie Holiday*

The night before the wedding, Inuyasha didn't sleep at all. He kept his arm extended to the side, wishing he could have the soft warmth of Kagome next to him instead of the cold nothing that had made its place by his side for far too long. Kikyo had dressed like she was going out that night, which got his hopes up, but it turned out she just wanted to have a quiet night in, effectively preventing any kind of intimacy between him and his chosen love and confusing the hell out of him, because who wears an evening gown to read a book on the couch? Kagome went to bed early, kissing her mother on the cheek and avoiding him completely. He and his too-soon-to-be wife had chatted about nothing half-heartedly, with her revealing that she was trying on her wedding dress and making sure he liked it, until he flipped on the television and she sighed and went up to bed. They didn't even make it to the count down this time.

Kikyo drove with Kagome to the Shrine early, telling him the night before not to see them off because glimpsing the bride before the wedding was bad luck. He knew she just didn't want him to see her without her make-up on, but he agreed anyway, even though he desperately wanted to give Kagome one last kiss as a free man before they began their descent into adultery.

Arriving at the Shrine nearly a half-hour before he was to be married, he took a look around at the guests who had already arrived. Kikyo had gathered the bare minimum of people she thought suitable, inviting only those above them (and they were truly few) and those at their own level. No subordinates or real friends or anything. It also appeared as though he was the only one of demonic heritage in attendance, a fact that made him roll his eyes and sigh heavily. A great amount of important business was done with demons. Kikyo and he would have to deal with a lot of pissed off colleagues and clients.

He lurked around for a bit, listening in on snippets of conversation, quickly becoming bored out of his mind. Why couldn't they have just gone to a damn courthouse and filled out a form? This was just completely unnecessary. When he saw everyone begin to head into the shrine building, he followed, strolling casually down the aisle, not even seeing the rich decorations or smelling the beautiful rare flowers, ignoring the stares and whispers of how unconcerned he seemed. The whole ceremony would be sloppy, since they hadn't had a rehearsal and he didn't even have a best man or anything, but he figured he could get by. Kikyo had concentrated more on the reception, claiming the party would be what really mattered, what everyone would remember.

No sooner had he stopped before the priest did the music begin to play and everybody stood, heads turned toward where the bride would enter. Kikyo was dressed in a slim, elegant ivory gown that she had worn the night before. It flowed to her feet and trailed behind her. She had chosen to forgo the veil, instead decorating her pinned-up hair with pearls and fresh jasmine flowers. Everybody murmured about how beautiful she looked, but all Inuyasha could see was the small figure behind her, carrying her train and scattering about jasmine flowers like the ones Kikyo wore in her hair. Kagome's hair was loose and waved down her back, the glorious mass just as untamed as it always was yet still looking absolutely beautiful. Her dress was long and pale gold and the way it outlined her thighs made his fingers itch to touch her. She was unsmiling and looking at the ground, and as she neared where he stood, his erratic heart beat seemed to be the only thing he could hear. On a fine gold chain around her neck was the ring he had given her, resting just between her breasts.

Giving her a meaningful look, he was disappointed when she kept her eyes on the ground and then suddenly Kikyo was next to him and the priest was saying something and he knew he had to respond appropriately and repeat the words like a goddamn parrot. So he did. He smiled and played the part of the loving bridegroom until it came to the end. When he said "I do", he looked not at Kikyo but at the one he was really committing himself to, somehow not surprised to see her looking directly at him. He said the words as he stared into her eyes and the moment seemed to last far longer than it should have, and then he quickly kissed his bride on the lips, took her hand, and they were gone, him dragging Kikyo behind him, not even glancing at the blur of human faces along either side of them.

Everyone flooded from the shrine building into the courtyard behind them, attempting to catch up to the newly married couple, but Inuyasha's pace was too fast for them. He walked straight into the reception building and then stopped abruptly, flinging Kikyo's hand from him, feeling like acid was making its way up his esophagus begging to be expelled. Nothing felt right. Nothing looked right. Even though he was smiling and shaking hands with people he should know, he was imploding. And then the small hands he knew so well grasped one of his in between them and made the chaos fade into nothing.

"Congratulations, Papa Yasha," Kagome whispered, the storms that were her eyes raining down on her cheeks.

Inuyasha couldn't think of anything to say so he just nodded and watched her walk away, wishing it was all over and done with. He glanced at Kikyo and saw her laughing and play flirting with some ancient foreign dignitary. It seemed as though she could handle herself, so he retreated from the sea of humanity, looking around for drinks or hors d'oeuvres or something that could occupy his hands and keep him from touching the girl who was now officially his step-daughter. There was a tower of filled champagne flutes and he took one from the bottom, half of him wishing it would crash to the ground and ruin the party, the other half praying the structure would stand so he wouldn't draw attention to himself and have the guests descend on him like a swarm of snobby locusts.

Then the music started and since he was expected to dance with Kikyo, he did. She had taught him to dance years back when they were actually dating, and he was surprised to see that his feet still remembered all the steps and didn't stomp on her once. They did the "leave room for Jesus" thing and didn't press against each other, him because he didn't want to and Kikyo because she preferred the more elegant, straight-backed way of dancing. Her posture was impeccable and he caught himself straightening up without realizing several times before their brief lifetime of a dance ended. Inuyasha wondered if her spine even had the natural S-shaped curve anymore.

They held hands and bowed laughingly to applause before separating. Others flooded onto the dance floor and Kikyo was once more surrounded by well-wishers. He was looking for an escape route when he saw Kagome in a corner, chatting with somebody's son. Her slim fingers were plucking at the necklace she wore as she smiled and laughed at whatever the barely post-pubescent grease ball of a boy was saying to her. Without hesitation, he strode towards the girl, pushing and shoving to get there faster.

"Care to dance with me, Kagome?" he said, his lips pressed in a tight smile he knew must be fearsome, judging by the look on the boy's face.

Her eyes lit up and she extended her hand to him. "Sure, Papa Yasha!"

He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, relieved she had accepted. He didn't know what he would have done had she told him no. Forgetting about the boy she had been giving her attention to, he led her out on the floor, again pushing and shoving until they were at the corner that was the least crowded. Laughing at his roughness, Kagome placed a hand on his shoulder and began to sway with him.

"So what were you talking about with that walking zit back there?" he whispered, now glad there were no demons present since the likelihood of their conversation being overheard was low with just humans around.

"That's mean," she giggled. "It was just about school and movies and stuff. Nothing interesting."

"Can't even flirt right, the idiot," he scoffed. "What was he, like fifteen or something?"

She glared at him. "I'm fifteen, Inuyasha."

He blushed and looked away. "I, uh, sometimes I forget…"

Her eyes softened and she smiled. "Me too. Sometimes."

Lowering his head so he was closer to her, he whispered the softest he could, "I wish it had been just you and me up there."

Kagome's eyes shone with a new set of tears. "I wish I could kiss you right now."

Inuyasha eyes drifted half-way shut and he almost closed the distance between them and made her wish come true, but at that moment it was as if glass shattered and he realized the severity of the situation. Their faces were almost touching, there wasn't even an inch between their bodies, Kagome's arms had found their way up and were now looped around his neck, and his hands were much too low on her back. Looking around, he saw several people glancing at them and he thought he could read suspicion in their gazes. Abruptly releasing and stepping away from the girl he loved, he gave her a small, awkward wave, trying to ignore the look of stunned hurt on her face.

"Want something to drink?" he asked casually, his eyes begging her to understand.

She shook her head and stormed off toward the head table. He followed, wanting to grab her hand and explain that he was now doing this for the two of them, not only because it was what Kikyo wanted.

"Inuyasha," Kikyo murmured happily, having snuck up behind him. "The meal is going to be served right away. Let's get seated."

He let her drag him to the long table that was facing everyone else's. There were only three chairs, two throne-like seats for the bride and groom and one little one for Kagome, their only family. These seats were the only ones without nametags and Inuyasha thanked whatever god was listening for that. Kagome was already there, sitting on the chair to the far left, and before Kikyo could, he took the seat next to her. She was surprised, he could tell, and probably more than a little angry. She must have expected Kikyo to take that seat. Plopping down in the center chair, he reached under the table with its long, embroidered tablecloth and held her hand, squeezing it slightly and caressing the back of it with his thumb. He hardly even felt his wife sit down next to him.

"Stop being so obvious!" she hissed, eyes on her empty plate.

He ignored her and stared at his own plate without seeing it, concentrating on the feeling of her hand in his, wishing he could stare at her without anyone thinking it was odd. She looked so lovely in that dress, especially with the ring he had given her hanging just so. It complimented and enhanced her look. Sighing, he didn't even find himself hungry when the food was placed in front of him, even though the steak was expensive-smelling and cooked just to his liking. He wanted to tell that to Kagome, wanting to hear her laugh and say how that would be impossible with his appetite, wrinkling her nose as she teased him, the same way she did when she came. And then he'd reply, saying how he wanted to eat something else—

"I am so glad I chose these delightful little tarts instead of the more traditional wedding cake, Inuyasha, aren't you? Cake's been done. This is the age of the tart, mark my words."

Grunting in reply, he poked at the chocolate and caramel tart on his plate with a claw, not caring what Kikyo thought about him using his hands to eat. It was basically just a cookie with ice cream toppings resting on it and one of those swirly chocolate straw things, nothing brilliant. It did smell good, so he took a bite, chewing half-heartedly. He still held Kagome's hand, even though it was hard to eat with only his left hand. Inuyasha couldn't wait to get out of there and tried to communicate that to her by gently swinging their hands back and forth. She squeezed back lightly, as if telling him to be patient. He smiled and obeyed.

All their guests came up to their table and he felt awkward sitting there like some sort of king, waiting for the lesser nobles to come up and kiss his ring if they dared to be so bold. He felt like a peasant, but Kikyo was definitely a queen, nodding and smiling without showing her teeth, kissing the air beside faces, giving equal time to all so nobody felt special or snubbed. And Kagome? She was out of this world, he thought dreamily. An angel. Nobody else would love him enough to go through this with him, for him. And she didn't even know all the details. He frowned. That's right, Kagome didn't know her mother was dying. Inuyasha kept assuring her they would be together, but he knew his relationship with Kikyo wouldn't last long, that the end was soon and inevitable. They wouldn't even have to hurt her. But Kagome didn't know what he did. She thought her mother was healthy and marrying him for money or something. He wanted to tell her but he settled for lacing his fingers with hers.

Kikyo's words came drifting to him through the noise of chatter and silverware. "…been wonderful, but I'm afraid my husband and I will have to take our leave. We'd like to thank you, our dearest friends, for coming to witness our somewhat delayed," there was a spattering of laughter, "nuptials. Please, continue to enjoy the food and drink. Have a wonderful evening!"

Everyone called out their goodbyes and some made ancient innuendoes, and he and Kikyo laughed and rose. At the last moment, he withdrew his hand from Kagome's and switched to his wife's, only to keep up appearances. He repressed a shudder; his fingers felt cold and small without hers to complete them. Once they were outside, he dropped Kikyo's hand, absently wiping his off on his pant leg.

"Darling! I was wondering when they'd release you," said a tall, pleasant-looking man who seemed to emerge straight from the shadows.

Kikyo smiled in a way he had never seen her do before. "Suikotsu! I thought we agreed to meet at the house. What are you doing here?"

The man, Suikotsu, enveloped her in his arms, nuzzling the top of her head with his nose. "I couldn't wait to see you."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the romantic display. It was all just so cliché. Now he and Kagome had something different, he thought with pride, something special the likes of which the world had seldom seen before. He looked around for her, remembering that she had followed quietly behind them when they exited the hellhole of a reception hall. Not seeing her immediately, he began to panic and walked back to the building, wondering if she had been intercepted by that kid who had been chatting her up earlier. There was a flash of pale gold in his peripheral and he turned. There she was, huddled by some old, run down well house. He jogged over to her.

"What are you doing all the way over here, angel?" he murmured. It was odd that she was crouching close to the ground in an expensive evening gown, but odder still was the expression on her face. It struck him to his core and he nearly fell to the ground himself in his concern for her. It was a look of pure fear.

"I-I need to get away," she said in a high, shaky voice. "I can't be here. I can't be where he is."

"Who? Who are you talking about, Kagome?" He knelt beside her and gently stroked her shoulder even though she was scaring him so much he felt like shaking her and taking her into his arms all at once.

"That man," she said with a sob. "The one who's touching Mother! We have to get her away from him."

"Kagome, that's just Suikotsu. Your mom's been dating him for quite a while now," he said, then immediately remembered Kikyo had sworn him to secrecy about that little fact. Oh well. They had been the ones all over each other in front of her, they spilled the beans themselves. At least now there was one less thing he had to keep from Kagome.

"They—They—" Her eyes went wide and her mouth was open in horror. She shook her head rapidly from side to side in denial. "No! How? No."

"Hey, calm down. Why are you acting like this? He seems like an okay guy. A bit of a wimp, but okay."

Kagome turned her pale face to him. "He's evil, Inuyasha. He's—He's—"

He rubbed her back soothingly. "I know you don't like him, angel. Your mom told me you used to have nightmares about him when you were little. But he's going on the honeymoon with us. He's going to keep her occupied so we can have time to ourselves."

He could feel her shaking, trembling. "He's…coming with us?" she whispered.

Inuyasha nodded. "They're gonna be locked up in their room on one side of the house and we'll be locked up in ours. Don't worry, I'll protect you," he promised, seriously doubting that this was much more than a childhood fear of the doctor she had managed to hold onto.

"Stay with me, Inuyasha," she said, leaning against him as he helped her to her feet. "I don't want to talk to him, I don't want him to see me. Let's go to your other house before they do, okay?"

He frowned, looking at her much more frail-seeming form. Her hands were clenched and her knuckles were white. The color had drained from her face, only the pink lipstick on her mouth was bright. Slowly, he nodded. She needed him right now. "Wait here, let me tell your mom."

Jogging back over to where Kikyo and Suikotsu stood close together, he coughed and got their attention.

"So, uh, I was thinking maybe the two of you could drive up together and I could take Kagome. She's really tired and she wants to rest."

"That seems reasonable," said Kikyo. "My keys are in the car. I'll leave my baggage in the trunk and Kagome can bring it in once you arrive."

He nodded and went back to Kagome. He offered to carry her but she shook her head and slipped off her small heeled shoes, taking off at a run to Kikyo's car. Worried, he followed her. She had never reacted this extreme to anything before. What was going on?

The drive was long and silent. It was five hours away, too short to bother with the hassle of flying yet too long to be borne patiently if driving. Kagome was curled up next to him, her arms wrapped around her knees, eyes staring sightlessly out the window. He glanced at her almost every couple of minutes, becoming more worried each time he did. She just seemed so scared, so blank, and he was starting to panic in response to her emotions.

He cleared his throat. "If you want, you can curl up in back and sleep before we get there."

Kagome shook her head. "No, thank you. I like being up here with you."

Her quiet words brought a small smile to his face and he felt calmer. "Do you want some music?"

She shook her head again.

"Can you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" she said, feigning ignorance.

"Why you're so scared of him."

She sighed. "Promise you'll believe me?"

"I know you're not a liar, Kagome. Angels can't lie," he said teasingly, wanting to break the sudden walls down.

"Okay," she started, taking a deep breath. "Well, we first started seeing Dr. Shichi when I was really little, I don't remember how young. I really liked him at first. He was nice and gentle and funny and he gave me candy and let me pick my own band-aid and everything. We saw him for a while, and then…"

Inuyasha's blood ran cold. He was starting to get a feel for where this was going. "He—He didn't touch you, did he?"

"No!" she cried, waving her hands to show how opposed she was to the very idea. "Not that. Thankfully. But one day, when Urasue was on one of her few vacations, we went to Dr. Shichi's and Mother said it wasn't for me, it was for her. I was confused since Mother told me he was a doctor only for children, but she had been sick with the flu lately so it wasn't too surprising. I stayed in the waiting room for as long as I could. It felt like hours. The receptionist left and turned almost all the lights off. I was the only one there and Mother still hadn't come back. So finally, I worked up the courage to go and try to find her. I was so scared, I thought she had left me forever. I—," her lower lip began to tremble and the child in her face was never more apparent to him. "I opened a door, and there was Mother and that man. There was…blood. On the floor. Not a lot, but enough. And in a small cardboard box right in front of me, there was this small little bloody thing. I didn't know what it was at first, it just looked like a little piece of meat. But then I saw the tiniest little arms…twitching. And a face. But Mother... She was on her knees in front of him. I don't have to tell you what they were doing. I was too scared to scream. And he looked at me. He looked at me and smiled and that's when—that's when he…released into Mother's—"

Kagome began to shake and sob so violently he was afraid she was going to hurt herself, but as suddenly as it started, she calmed down and dried her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I didn't know what I had seen until years later, although on some level I think I always did. I named the baby Souta. I never told Mother. She must have been around twenty weeks pregnant. It must have been his, Dr. Shichi's. What I don't understand is how could she, after all that, do what she did?" Her eyes were big and she turned to him as though he could give her an answer. "She must have been in so much pain from the abortion. She was bleeding. How? I keep trying not to judge her, but I can still see Souta. He was moving and she was just... I-I begged for a brother or sister. I—" She pressed her hand to her lips, stopping her sobs and words.

Inuyasha wanted to cry with her, to hold her, to kill Suikotsu and those who caused her pain. But he found himself overwhelmingly grateful that it hadn't been Kagome in the box, that Kikyo had kept the girl that was now traumatized and shaking by his side. And he wasn't surprised. Kikyo had more than a few kinks, pain and domination being one of them. She didn't let anybody boss her around in the real world, but in the bedroom she was anyone's slave.

"Fucking hell. I'm so sorry, Kagome. I don't know what to say," he said, pulling into the garage of his seldom used beach house.

"Nobody does," she whispered. "That's because there's nothing to say to that."

She let him carry her into the house and he savored the warmth, the realness of her. Several times he almost tripped over the stepping stones, concentrating on her scent and the softness of her skin more than on where he was going. They made it in alive and he traveled to the second floor, entering through a set of double doors and then setting Kagome on her feet. Pulling a key out of his pocket, he locked the doors behind them.

"This is our side of the house," he explained. "Your mother and, um, her friend are going to be way on the other side on the first floor. We're going to take the room at the very end of the hall so there's no way anyone can hear anything, neither us nor the two of them. My fake room will be two doors down from ours." He didn't think his new bride and her companion would be leaving their room. From what Kikyo had told him, they had not seen each other in a while, and knowing her, they wouldn't be leaving their room much. He and his own companion would be safe at the opposite end of the house.

Kagome nodded and slipped her hand into his, smiling up at him. It didn't have the radiance her smiles normally did, but it was still beautiful. He leaned down and kissed her, tipping her back like they did in old movies.

"I needed that," he whispered against her lips, making her giggle.

They ran to the room, hand in hand, both suddenly giddy, the anticipation that had been building ever since they first saw each other finally coming to a head. The room was large, his favorite one, the one he always used when he came here. It was the one he and Kikyo had stayed in the entire weekend they were here, and that was part of the reason why he now wanted to share it with Kagome. He needed to replace the memories he had with Kikyo, with every other woman, with Kagome. She was it. He wanted and needed to give her everything.

When they got into the room, all they did was stare at one other in the soft light. The décor was almost entirely dark blue and gold, Kagome's dress fitting in perfectly. He looked at her eyes, which were still slightly swollen, at the wetness that seemed to be present on her face at least once a day since they had started this. Twirling her hair around his hand, he pulled back and ran his tongue down her throat, knowing she was biting her lip but not seeing it. He smelled her hair, having long lost his self-consciousness about that particular urge. Kagome smelled so good, so sweet. He had never just wanted to smell someone before he met her. Idly, he wondered if it was possible to manufacture a scented candle or air freshener in her scent so he could fill his office or the house with it while she was at school.

Kagome pulled his head up and kissed him. It was soft and dreamy and timid and insistent all at once. He moaned and walked her to the bed, pushing her down on it, taking a second to memorize the way she looked with her hair fanned out on the bedspread, her lipstick messed up, her breasts almost completely coming out of her dress. And the ring. The chain had pooled at her neck and his mother's most precious material possession rested on her throat. He kissed it, stroking her shoulder, then made his way down. They both knew this night was different, that it had to be. They either had to grow closer or allow themselves to be torn apart, and neither one of them was willing for the latter to happen.

He was gentler than he had ever been, even during his previous times with Kagome. She was shaking and covered in a fine sweat and he hadn't even touched any of her most sensitive areas yet. Feeling the time was right, he shed his shirt and jacket, almost getting strangled by his tie when he forgot he was wearing one. Kagome laughed and it took away some of the intensity of the moment, but it was not missed. This was real. This was them.

"You look so beautiful tonight, Kagome," he said, kissing her left temple, then along her cheekbone, then her lips, tasting the still creamy lipstick and finding it divine since it was flavored with both their saliva. "You were the most beautiful woman there. No one else came close."

She tugged on a lock of his hair, twirling it around her finger, still not used to his compliments. "I wanted to be pretty for you," she confessed. "I wanted you to look at me."

"It worked," he smirked, feeling a thrill go up his spine. "Even if you had shown up in baggy sweatpants and a raggedy old shirt, I still would have only had eyes for you."

She laughed and kissed him, rapidly recreating the serious mood they had before with the little licks and flicks of her tongue. Becoming impatient, Inuyasha rose up and searched along her side, finding the zipper to her beautiful dress and yanking it down, slipping it off of her and flinging it behind him. He actually salivated when he saw she was wearing nothing underneath.

"This entire time," he said wonderingly, circling a nipple with the back of his claw.

"I was wondering if you had realized," she said, proud she had managed to fluster him.

"Fuck, if I had known earlier we would have done it in the goddamn shrine."

Without warning, he latched onto her breast, sucking and gently biting the nipple, bringing his head up and then rubbing the shining nub with his thumb, teasing her to the point of gasping. He switched to the other one, pinching the tip of the breast he had vacated. His heart had told him to be gentle on this special night, but he knew Kagome liked a little rough treatment when it came to her breasts so he gave her what she wanted. Kissing his way down her abdomen, he placed himself in front of the area his mouth and hands knew very well. Holding her thighs apart, he licked her clit and stopped when she bucked her hips up, a smile on his face. Caressing the skin below her belly button, he licked again, slowly, then plunged his tongue into her, burying his face in her hot heat. He sucked on the heated little bump, and just as she was about to cum, he stopped and licked his way back up her body, grasping a breast in each hand and massaging them.

"Why—why did you stop?" she asked, out of breath, panting for his tongue.

He kissed her. "I'm going to make you cum another way tonight."

Her eyes widened, partly in fear and partly in surprise, even though he knew she had been thinking the same things he had. That was the real reason why they had never gone further before. It was because they needed something special, something strong to bind them together on this night. Kagome nodded, and suddenly the gentleness was back in his touch. He kissed her, slow and soft and deep, his thumbs brushing across her nipples. He didn't warn her and penetrated her quickly, swallowing her cry of pain, surprised when he was out of breath himself at the sensation. He enjoyed the feeling of her tearing around him, because even though it had hurt her, it meant he was the only one, the first and the last. She would never know another, he would make sure of that. Vowing to use all his experience (which could probably fill an entire series of books), he waited until he felt her relax around him to thrust again, making sure it was shallow. Reaching down between them, he found her clit and began rubbing it, surprised and pleased when she bucked up into him just as she had before. Kagome was so strong when she wanted to be, when he needed her to be. A little pain and blood weren't going to deter her from getting what they both wanted. He nibbled on her lip and thrust again, deeper and harder, and when she only pushed back he let himself love her without restrictions, rubbing her and peppering her face with kisses. The feeling of being inside her was unlike any other experience he'd ever had. He almost wanted to stop and just lay there with her in his arms, make the moment last forever, but that was impossible, especially with how close they both were.

"Inuyasha," she sighed in a trembling voice. He knew she was close, closer than he. She brought her arms up around his neck and kissed him, their teeth banging together from the force, but she didn't seem to mind. He pushed her down and gently tweaked a nipple, wanting to see the face she made when she came. It was the only O-face he had seen that was absolutely beautiful, not savage like so many were, like he knew his own was. When she lost control, she did so adorably, in a way he found to be ideal. He thrust, deeper than ever, hitting a spot that made her cry out in ecstasy, and felt her ripple around him. He continued his thrusting, more to please her than to find his own release. Inuyasha was more concerned with concentrating on her features, watching the wrinkling of the nose, the tiny furrow of her brow, the trembling of her upper lip that was so slight he always almost missed it, and then finally, the single tear from each eye. Without realizing its approach, he orgasmed, filling her with his seed.

They couldn't be apart, he knew that for certain now. This last surrender had rendered him incapable of ever truly wanting another. He was drawn to her from the start, and the more time he spent with her, the more he couldn't bear even the idea of not being with her. Was that not fate? It was meant to be.

Inuyasha rolled to the side, taking Kagome with him, not separating from her. He wanted to savor this. Looking up into her bright eyes, he smiled. Gently, he kissed her face, once for each light, little freckle she had on her nose. Nineteen. She had more freckles on that tiny strip of skin than she had years. The thought made him hold her closer, tighter.

"You are the best thing that has ever entered into my life," she whispered, kissing him between the eyes.

"I love you." Now was the time to say it.

Her mouth dropped open. "Since—since when?"

"Since before either of us were born," he answered. What they had was fate. Destiny.

"Why now, then? Why tell me now?"

He laughed. "At first I didn't want to scare you off, and then I didn't want you to think I was saying it just to get you into bed."

"I…love you, too, Inuyasha," she whispered. "I never thought this could happen to me, not with someone like you. You're so wonderful," she said, gently cupping his cheek. Kagome looked at him as if her were the entire world, and in that moment, he felt truly loved, more loved than he had felt in several lifetimes. The warmth ran through him and he had to hold back tears, not wanting to shed them in front of Kagome even though she had done so in his presence numerous times.

"You're wonderful," he choked out, turning his head to kiss her palm.

"Am… Am I bad?" she asked in a quiet voice. "Am I bad for loving you?"

"No, Kagome," he said forcefully. "Love can never be bad. You're a good, good girl. The best girl. You're an angel."

The words seemed to stop another flood of her tears and he smiled at her, wanting her to be happy tonight, on their night.

"Here," he said, unclasping the necklace. Taking the ring from it, he put it on her left ring finger again. "Wear it there from now on, okay? This night, everything that happened, means we're committed. We're together, just us, forever."

She nodded and rolled off of him and to his side, nuzzling into him. "You didn't give Mother a ring. Why?"

He sighed. He hadn't wanted to think about Kikyo or the wedding or anything while with Kagome. "A ring means something, Kagome. You're the only one who's ever going to get a ring from me."

That answer seemed to satisfy her and she quickly fell asleep, leaving him awake and in a slight daze, part of him not believing what had just happened. He drifted off shortly after, holding her to his chest, lulled by their combined scents.


	12. The One That You Like Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: So, I was just wondering. Does anyone not like Inuyasha and Kagome being together right now? Do you think they should wait or something? Let's be honest, if we heard about this in real life we'd be all like "Omg ewwww I hate humanity", but it's the interwebz so we cream our jeans over it all. Problems? Questions? Complaints? Ballads composed to honor my beauty and brains and talent and grace?
> 
> *Song for the chapter: Wishful Thinking by The Ditty Bops*

Inuyasha woke before Kagome, as he almost always did, and lay in the dim room just staring at her. Happiness, confusion, anger, but most of all he felt love. He only felt love for her, happiness at being around her. The rest of his emotions were in reaction to their situation, which was going to be almost hopeless for a long time. Their stolen moments were always sweet, but how long would it be before the novelty of something forbidden would fade for her? Humans were different. They were a whole chemistry set of emotions. And their feelings weren't permanent. It was very hard for someone with demonic blood to move on from a love relationship. He knew that first-hand. But Kikyo and Kagome were different. He would not be able to forget Kagome. If she left, it would destroy him.

"What's on your mind?" Kagome questioned softly, climbing on him, resting chest to chest.

He forced a smile and stroked her hair. "You."

He got a kiss on the lips for that. His hands decided to snake down to her backside and squeeze.

"Ouch," Kagome hissed. "Sorry, I'm kinda sore in that entire, uh, lower area."

"Sorry," he murmured, kissing her cheekbone reverently.

"It had to be done."

"Are you hungry?" It was an abrupt change of subject, but a necessary one. For him, anyway.

She laughed. "I take it that means you're starving. How long were you awake before I got up?"

He shrugged as best as he could in his position. "A few hours."

"You could have gone out for something. I wouldn't have minded," she said softly, tracing his lips with her pinky finger, smirking when he playfully nipped at her.

"We'll go down for something together, come on. The caretaker should have something in the cabinets," he said, gently disentangling himself from her and leaping out of bed. He didn't want to leave the sanctuary of the room, but he had not eaten properly at the reception and he was absolutely ravenous.

She frowned. "Shouldn't you go down first? I'll follow in like ten minutes."

"Why?" he asked, pulling on a pair of jeans.

"Because of Mother…"

Oh. He had nearly forgotten that they were sharing the house with the other couple.

"I guess that's sensible," he muttered, reality setting in and making him feel down. Sighing heavily, he went out the door, closing it behind him to see Kagome already beginning to change into a pair of modest pajamas, humming happily, not even glancing at him.

Inuyasha drifted down the stairs, the dreamy high he had been consumed by ever since last night now slowly starting to dissipate. His ears twitched, picking up noises from where he was headed, but his mind didn't register it, too intent on the girl he had left upstairs. That was why he was surprised into jumping back a bit when he saw his wife laughing and chatting with her boyfriend, who was shirtless and busily flipping pancakes and reciting some sort of funny medical anecdote.

Kikyo's attention turned to him when he entered and her smile widened. "Did you sleep well, Inuyasha?"

"Uh, yeah," he said nervously, glancing at Suikotsu. Even though he believed Kagome had been telling the truth about him, seeing him as he was now made it difficult to process. How could this laughing, domestic-looking pediatrician have terminated his lover's pregnancy, a pregnancy that was the fruit of their union? And then after… He shuddered, not wanting to think about it. Inuyasha wasn't sure whether to kill him where he stood or wait until after he had finished making the pancakes. He decided on the latter and sat down across the table from Kikyo.

"When did you two get in?" he asked, hoping they would carry on the conversation themselves now that he had contributed a few words.

"Only a few hours ago," Kikyo said, turning to smile at Suikotsu. "We were out on the beach to watch the sunrise. We're going to go cliff diving after breakfast."

He nodded. It seemed as though both he and his wife had had a fulfilling, romantic first night of their honeymoon, even though it was with different people. Though she had said before that she wanted a "real marriage", she seemed to be perfectly content with the way things were at present. Unless she wanted them both, which was quite likely, considering the woman had always wanted everything and more.

"Juice, Inuyasha?" Suikotsu asked politely, his voice cheerful. Inuyasha grunted in the affirmative and it appeared in front of him almost immediately. It was really, really hard to dislike the guy, even if they were eskimo brothers and he was apparently some sort of insane psychopathic creepy fucker.

"Ah, Kagome, nice to see you up!" the doctor said happily.

Inuyasha turned quickly and saw Kagome standing in the doorway, her eyes wide and her hands twiddling with the bottom of her top. Their eyes met and he tried to smile at her, hoping to calm her down. It seemed to work and she shuffled over to the table, quietly sitting down next to him. He was surprised at her actions; he had assumed she would be even more paranoid than ever now that he was officially married, but he was glad she was by his side. He wondered how Kikyo was going to explain her relationship with the man her daughter had feared for so long, but quickly came to the conclusion from her detached expression that his wife was not going to make any attempt at explaining herself. He sneered, mentally calling her a coward.

"Here, Kagome, have my juice," he said, trying to keep the tenderness out of his voice. Suddenly, he wanted to be the one flipping pancakes and telling stupid stories only she would find interesting. He wanted to give everything to her because that was what she deserved.

"Thank you, Inuyasha," she whispered, taking a small sip.

Kikyo somehow managed to giggle in a completely mature fashion. "What happened to Papa Yasha?"

Kagome immediately blushed and he knew his face was looking a similar shade of red.

"Papa what?" Suikotsu asked, coming back over to the table while the bacon and sausages cooked.

"Papa Yasha," Kikyo continued. "Kagome gave him the most childish little nickname. 'Papa Yasha'. And Papa here just loved it," she explained.

The two of them laughed and he felt his earlier anger return, the anger and hopelessness that was just a hairsbreadth away from depression. He wished there was a table cloth on this table so he could hold her hand in secret again, provide her some small measure of comfort.

"In all seriousness, Inuyasha, thank you for babysitting my daughter so much. I'm sorry I've been gone so long, but honestly I never meant to just dump her on you like that," Kikyo said casually, sipping her coffee.

"You know what, Kikyo?" he said from between clenched teeth. He could practically feel the burning in Kagome's throat from trying to hold her tears back, as well as smell the salt from her sadness as it attempted to fight its way out onto her cheeks. "I think you and your boyfriend can enjoy this vacation alone. I want to go back to work and I'm sure Kagome would rather prepare for the rest of the school year than listen to you."

Kikyo rolled her eyes and Kagome looked up at him, surprised he was actually sticking up for her like that.

"You were the one who insisted we bring Suikotsu and Kagome along, Inuyasha. Now's not the time to get jealous," she huffed.

Inuyasha was the one to roll his eyes this time as he stood up and reached into the pocket of his jeans to toss the keys on the table. "There. Lock the house up when you're done. I'm gonna take your car back."

He turned and left without another glance, hoping Kagome would follow behind him so he wouldn't have to go back to get her and ruin his exit. He heard her shuffling behind him and he breathed easier, opening the door of the car and slamming it behind him as he entered, Kagome following suit. He sped out of the driveway the minute she put her seatbelt on, the tires squealing as he drove.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing?" she asked, sounding as though she were gently scolding an unreasonable child. All it did was manage to further ruffle his feathers.

"You've got to fucking stick up for yourself, goddammit!" he yelled, pressing the accelerator to the floor.

"I know," Kagome muttered. "Thank you for saying something. But really, think about it. We left all our clothes and luggage in the room," she said.

He froze. Their clothes were scattered helter skelter all over the room they had shared. What if Kikyo went in, curious to see how the room they had spent a couple nice nights in so many years ago had changed? She would see her daughter's dress crumpled in a corner, her husband's wedding garments in various spots around the room. It would be obvious.

"Don't worry," she soothed, "I packed everything away and put my suitcase in another room."

Inuyasha relaxed, easing his foot off the pedal little by little. "You think of everything," he breathed in relief.

"I just wish it didn't have to be this way."

He murmured in agreement, thinking about how many wishes they'd made since they started this whole thing. How many were yet to come?

"So, are you ever going to call me Papa Yasha again?" he asked teasingly, hoping his clumsy change of subject would lift the heaviness from the air.

Kagome laughed lightly. "I think we've come too far for me to still be calling you 'papa'. It was getting weird."

Although Inuyasha was happy to finally be rid of the hated title, part of him would miss it. It was something only they had, a part of their short history. The drive was silent after that, with him deep in thought and Kagome catching up on the sleep she'd missed due to last night's activities. They reached their home a little after two in the afternoon, and he picked her up, failing in his attempts at not waking her, and laughingly carried her over the threshold, kissing her once they were fully inside.

He made to put her down when she yanked a lock of his hair and blushingly whispered, "There's one more threshold I think you should carry me over."

Inuyasha barked out a short laugh and ran clumsily up the stairs with her. They barely made it into his room before she was all over him, laying hot kisses on his throat and the small part of his chest that was not covered by his shirt, rubbing the nape of his neck with just the tips of her fingers. Plopping her on the bed, he practically ripped his shirt off before stopping half-way and panting out, "I really, really hope you're not so sore now."

She responded by slowly pulling down her pajama pants and shrugging out of her loose top. Nearly tripping over his not quite undone jeans, he growled as he made his way over her, dragging his hands up her body and caressing her in a few sensitive areas. Her cheeks were flushed by the time his lips met hers again and they both became lost in each other. Inuyasha entered Kagome without a warning and she tensed up, still tender, relaxing only when he leaned down to kiss and suck at her breasts. When she began mewling he moved again, thrusting into her and feeling as though he were drowning in her scent and sounds. She came as he kissed her lips and he followed soon after, not once tearing his lips from hers. Sighing contentedly, he rolled onto his back and took her into his arms, kissing the top of her head when she snuggled into his chest.

"I really love you, Inuyasha," she whispered near his collarbone.

"I love you too, angel."

Somehow, they both fell asleep again, having been tired out from the drive and the brief honeymoon. When Inuyasha awoke again, it was dark and he was still somewhat sleepy. Sniffing around, he tried to search with his nose for what could have woken him before he was ready. Nothing came to him and he relaxed, stroking the ends of Kagome's hair near her hip. She moaned and rubbed her face against where she still lay on his chest.

"Inuyasha, what are—"

He sensed it, his ears, nose and eyes for once failing to protect him. Moving faster than he ever had, he tossed Kagome to the side and flung the sheets and blankets onto her, hoping they would offer some sort of protection if worse came to worst. Standing above him was a man holding a knife, and judging by the fact he had not managed to pick up on his presence until the last possible second, he was a skilled assassin. Not quite skilled enough, though, Inuyasha thought, smirking to himself as he noiselessly cut into him with his claws, catching the man in the throat and chest. The would-be assassin fell to the floor with a loud thump and he breathed a sigh of relief. Looking to where he had placed Kagome, he saw her staring at him with wide eyes, mouth open in a silent scream.

"I-Inuyasha…" she whispered, and he moved to hold her in his arms but she pushed him away. Frowning, he looked down at his hands. He had forgotten about the blood and gore under his nails and on his skin up to beyond his wrist.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Kagome," he said sheepishly.

She said nothing, only moved to turn on the lamp at the nightstand beside her. "What _happened_?!" she said in a loud, strained voice.

He shook his head. "It was my goddamn brother. That bastard probably considered it a wedding gift."

"You…You have a brother? Why wasn't he at the wedding?"

"We don't get along," he said, gesturing to where the dead man lay. "He tries to exterminate me every so often."

The tears started and she surprised him by throwing herself at him, embracing him tightly. "You could have died!"

He kissed the side of her head and rubbed her back with his clean hand. "Shhh, it's okay. It's happened before and we're both alright. If he was really serious, he wouldn't have sent a human."

Kagome shuddered. "I was so scared."

He breathed in the scent of her hair, remembering all the details that made it so hard to be in a relationship with someone. He hadn't lived with Kikyo and Sesshomaru never went after those close to him unless they were literally close in proximity.

Holding the shocked girl against him with one hand, he took his stained one and reached for where he had left his cell phone on his own nightstand. Quickly, he dialed Myoga, the only one he really ever contacted.

Without waiting for an answer, he growled out, "I need you here to clean up a gift of Sesshomaru's, the usual kind. And pull up a list of skilled female bodyguards. Narrow it down and schedule interviews."

Murmuring soothing words, he led Kagome to her room, leaving her for a brief moment to wash the blood that was mostly on his right hand but also splattered on his chest and face. He climbed into bed next to her, for the first time in years genuinely angry at his brother. It was one thing to do that to him when he was alone, but now Kagome was deeply scarred. Rearranging their bodies so that they were reclining as they had before, he kissed the top of her head and slowly allowed himself to drift off, trusting Myoga to enter silently, do his job, and leave just as silently. Myoga loved doing the clean-up himself even though he had untold amounts of minions. Inuyasha always made a huge mess with the blood and it pooled in a delightful way the flea demon found quite irresistible. Inuyasha could probably get away with paying him in blood alone, but that would quickly become a larger ordeal than he was willing to handle. The majority of his salary was in plain cash, with more than double the amount of time off he gave to his employees. He never asked questions when his secretary went on "vacation", but he had a few good guesses that he hoped would not ever become certainties.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Haha, Kikyo. Cliffs. Cliff diving. Ha.


	13. I Am the Armor

***Song for the chapter: I Am Your Skin by The Bravery***

An entire week passed during which they enjoyed each other on nearly every surface in the house. Kagome was having trouble sleeping, and while it worried him to the point of pain, it did give them more time to be together and he cherished every moment. Finally, the day came when she had to go back to school. Inuyasha tried to convince her to stay for just one more day, but she was adamant, insisting that her studies were necessary if she were to survive in the real world. He relented, but only because he knew she was still scared from what happened that night and probably needed to be outside more.

On the morning she was to go back to school, he woke her up early and carried her to the Goshinboku. He loved her passionately, looking into her stormy eyes with his intense ones, making a last-ditch effort to keep her with him, even though he knew it wouldn't work. She came twice before he allowed himself to finish, and he acknowledged privately to himself that it was one of the most difficult things he had ever done.

As they lay in the morning sunlight together, Kagome smiled at him in a knowing way. "It's not going to work, Inuyasha. You did make me want to come back early, though. I'm going to be thinking about this all day," she said, laying a lingering kiss on his temple.

He growled and chased her back into the house, both laughing breathlessly the entire time, then waited downstairs for her to dress since she argued that if he went with her they might never leave. He dropped her off, feeling somewhat better when she lost track of time while kissing him and was almost late. After the last glimpse of the green material of her skirt swished through the door, he sighed and drove to work.

He rode the elevator to his floor, muttering his salutations to people he didn't even bother to look at. When he finally got to his office, he stopped at the sight of a huge crowd in and around it. Pushing and shoving his way through them, receiving a multitude of glares, he arrived at Myoga's desk.

"Who the _fuck_ are all these people, Myoga?!" he roared over the noise of the chattering, sweaty crowd.

His long-suffering secretary/assistant gave him a look that let Inuyasha know he was struggling not to roll his eyes. "The bodyguard candidates for your step-daughter, sir. As you requested."

Realization dawning, Inuyasha looked around at all the crew cuts and broad shoulders. "I thought I said _female_ bodyguards," he grumbled. He did not want Kagome in the company of some strange man for eight hours a day. The youngest ones among them looked twice her age. Who knew what they'd try on her? Fuckin' perverts.

Myoga coughed and glanced around at the packed office. "Er, they _are_ women, sir. Your accountant friend has already verified that."

Myoga gestured to where his personal accountant and maybe friend, Miroku Houshi, lay sprawled on the couch, knocked out. He wore a huge, gaping grin and the entire right side of his face was swollen red and already starting to bruise, his glasses askew and cracked.

"Who did this?" Inuyasha asked, amazed.

"I did it. That pervert groped me," came a low yet slightly nasally voice from somewhere in the middle of the crowd. A woman stepped forward, one that actually looked like a female although she was still somewhat too handsome according to his tastes.

He whistled, staring at the handprint on the unconscious man's face. "Just from one slap? You're hired. What's your name?"

The woman followed him as he walked into his office and shut the door. "Sango. Sango Taijiya."

He sat down behind his desk and gestured for her to sit down at the one chair on the other side. "Good. Kagome is busy right now so I'll get you two acquainted when she comes back. You will guard her at all times that I am not with her, which will be from about 7:30 in the morning to three in the afternoon." That was when Kagome was in school, and since he would be driving her there and picking her up there would be no reason to have Sango stay longer than that.

The woman across from him nodded once. "We were not told the details of this position, Mr. Taisho. Why do you feel she needs to be guarded so closely?"

He raised an eyebrow. The fact that he was wealthy was reason enough for a bodyguard and he felt like making a sarcastic remark, but then he decided to be more open with her. It could possibly help her defend Kagome better should something ever happen. He sighed.

"Kagome is naïve and delicate, somewhat child-like. We were attacked last week in our home, and while I am used to it and acted quickly, she was frightened. She was quite shaken and could not sleep well for days, hardly eating. I don't want to see her like that again," he said with an internal shudder. Just thinking about the couple of days after the event made him feel physically ill. She had clung to him like a little girl, just to make sure he was still alive and well and solid. He had caught her eyes examining his claws from time to time, but he hadn't glimpsed any fear in the grey pools he so loved. That, at least, consoled him and sustained him through the long nights when she lay silently, awake and unmoving, her head on his shoulder, one palm over his heart.

A small smile appeared on Sango's face and she said, "You obviously love your wife very much, Mr. Taisho. It's nice to see."

Inuyasha coughed nervously. "She's, uh, she isn't—Kagome is my step-daughter. But I love her very much. She's, um, she's like my own daughter," he finished, grossing himself out with his own words.

"Oh. My mistake."

"Ha, uh, no problem." He took out a pen and piece of paper from one of his desk drawers and started writing on it. "Here are directions to my home from this office and my personal cell phone number. Please arrive at my home by seven this evening. We can go over the contract and you can meet Kagome over dinner." Inuyasha normally would not have invited anyone who wasn't a delivery person to his home, but Kagome didn't like crowded restaurants and was most relaxed in the familiar surroundings of their house, their shelter, their love nest. It would be easier for her to warm up to a stranger in a place she already felt comfortable. It would also be less of an effort on his part. Getting dressed nice and going out was just too much of a hassle and he'd rather be in a place where he could smell the lingering traces of his and Kagome's coupling.

Sango nodded again, only once, in that same sure and succinct fashion. "Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Taisho."

He waved her out dismissively, his mind already on other things, mostly naked Kagome-related things. Inuyasha hoped that she would get along with the woman he chose to guard her. She would have objected strongly to any kind of extra supervision before, but after she saw him tear into a man who had been intent on killing one or both of them, the girl would probably be more open to the idea. Hell, he'd follow her himself if he could. He had thought about it, even began to make plans so that he could work over the phone and hide himself so she wouldn't see, since he knew she would definitely rebel if he were the one doing the protecting, but it would be difficult to explain his absence to Myoga and Kikyo, should either of them find out. Plus, as much as he'd love to follow her around all day, he did have other responsibilities. Inuyasha had neglected Tetsusaiga, and he was loath to completely abandon something he had worked so hard on, even for someone as precious as his teenage step-daughter.

The body guard was just a precaution, anyway. His asshole of a brother had been gradually sending people to attack him less and less, and it was unlikely he'd strike again, unless he was feeling particularly bored or had been dwelling on his various less than stellar accomplishments, which he always brushed off and pretended he had meant for everything to go that certain way, and in that case he would only attack the both of them if Inuyasha were present as well. Their fraternal battles to the death had always ended in his own victory, with Sesshomaru running away and pretending he had gotten bored and that the "half-breed abomination" was no longer worth wasting his precious time. They had not fought in a good century and a half, when Inuyasha had finally figured out that fighting his brother had been a waste of _his_ time. But so help him, if that bastard did anything to Kagome or in front of Kagome again, he'd be one dead, racist demon, family bonds or no.


	14. That's the Way It Goes

***Song for the Chapter: Everybody Knows by Concrete Blonde***

Inuyasha was nearly humming as he pulled into the school parking lot and saw Kagome run towards the car. Now that he had had her all to himself for a week straight, it was even harder to let her go for the few hours she had to attend high school. Just as she was about to reach the safety of the vehicle, she was stopped by the same brown-haired boy that had been attempting to violate her several months ago. His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard he thought he'd crush it, but thankfully Kagome disentangled herself from the conversation and dove through the open car door. Without looking at her, he began to speed away.

"I thought I told you not to see that boy anymore, Kagome," he said angrily.

Laughing, she leaned over and kissed him on the side of his mouth. "Be careful! You're really starting to sound like a father now."

He flinched and she laughed again at his reaction and began to touch his thigh, idly caressing him up and down. When he shivered and tensed, she began to place small kisses on the side of his face, the hand on his leg climbing higher and higher.

"You keep that up and we're going to get in an accident," he said roughly.

"You better hurry home, then," she murmured, squeezing him gently through his pants. Breathing hard, he nearly doubled his speed and was inside her the minute they entered the house, their moans and cries echoing in the sparsely furnished living room. Afterward, as he lay calm and sated on the sofa with Kagome panting on his chest, he remembered their dinner plans.

"I found a woman who seems like she'd be a good personal guard for you," he said, playing with her sweaty bangs.

"A what?" she asked tiredly, gently swatting his hand away as he was now tickling her forehead with the wet locks in a somewhat annoying fashion.

"A bodyguard. I thought that after what happened you'd feel safer."

She turned her concerned eyes on him. "Do you really think I need one? Am I in any danger?"

"No, no, no," he said quickly. "At least I don't think so." Her eyes widened and he winced. "Look, Sesshomaru might try and scare you, but I don't think he'd hurt you. It would be bad for business. A bodyguard would be a deterrent against any of his stupid attempts at making me angry."

"Oh," she said, unconvinced. "Then he knows? About… About you and me?"

Inuyasha froze. "Wow. I, uh, guess he does, then. Maybe he thought you were Kikyo? But no, he always does his research."

They held each other in silence, separately processing the fact that there was a person who knew about their relationship, a person who wasn't on the best of terms with one of them.

"If I have a bodyguard," Kagome said slowly, "when are you going to find the time to bring me my lunch when I forget it?"

Inuyasha laughed and smacked her bare bottom just hard enough to leave a pale pink handprint and make her squeak. "We're just going to have to spend more time together at home, that's all."

She kissed him deeply and he moved his hands to cup her breasts when she stopped him. "We have a guest in a couple hours, Inuyasha. We should shower and look presentable."

He growled in disappointment and she rolled her eyes, sliding off of him. He watched her hips sway as she went up the stairs and then followed, restraining himself from barging into the bathroom and taking her over and over again.

"Welcome, Sango!" Kagome said cheerfully, ducking under his arm which was holding the door open. The excited girl grabbed the tough older woman's hand and drew her inside, pushing past Inuyasha with hardly a glance. Inuyasha sighed. He had forgotten how hyper Kagome could get when meeting new people, even though he had experienced it first-hand not so long ago. The memory made him smile and he followed the two women into the living room, settling down in his favorite chair.

"So how'd you get into this line of work, Sango? I like your name, by the way," Kagome chirped.

"My father trained me."

Inuyasha empathized with Sango. She was obviously not a chatty person. He had always had trouble talking to people, even Kikyo, but with Kagome he was able to be more himself.

"Oh, so it's the family business? How neat!"

Sango nodded and the conversation ceased. Kagome looked at him for help but he gave her a slight shrug, not able to think of any small talk. She laughed nervously and turned back to Sango.

"I hope you like chicken divan. When Inuyasha invited you for dinner, he forgot about the actual dinner part so I had to just put together whatever I could on such short notice," she said, glaring at him.

"Anything you provide is alright with me, Miss Higurashi."

Kagome giggled. "Please, call me Kagome. Anything else is just weird."

"We should probably get to the table before the food gets cold," Inuyasha said, not wanting to see Kagome suffer through a mostly one-sided conversation any longer.

Dinner went well, with Sango opening up more to Kagome about her family, telling her about how she had lost both her parents several years ago and was now taking care of her younger brother. Kagome was more than appropriately saddened by this news and grabbed one of Sango's hands, telling her that she would never be alone again in a way Inuyasha thought was somewhat too dramatic, but judging by the tender expression on the woman's face was just right. When they were done and Kagome had somehow talked him into eating his broccoli, an hour had passed and she shrieked when she noticed the time.

"Oh, gosh! I have a test tomorrow, so I'd better go study." She rose from her chair and gently pushed it back in. "I'll say good night now, Sango. I hope we'll become even better friends. And good night, Inuyasha," she said, smiling at him innocently, knowing he'd recognize the far from pure look in her eyes. All he wanted to do now was get Sango to sign the contract he'd had Myoga draw up and then give Kagome what she was asking for, damn her studying and tests. He and Sango both followed Kagome with their eyes as she walked away, then turned to each other as soon as she was out of sight.

"I had my assistant draw up a contract for you," he said, sliding the stapled stack of papers over to her. "It's mostly just a bunch of legal crap, the usual stuff. You already discussed your salary with Myoga and he approved it, so we don't need to go over that. The one thing I think is most important is that you never, under any circumstances, even if it's just between friends or something, discuss your employment here or anything pertaining to it."

"Like the fact you are fucking your teenage step-daughter?" she asked casually.

Inuyasha spit out the water he had been in the process of drinking, choking on part of it and gagging uncontrollably. When he finally got a hold of himself, he sputtered out, "How dare you! I-I love m-my wife."

Sango nodded casually. "Yes, sure you do. Where is she? Not here after her only child and husband were almost murdered. You were only married a week ago, you had no honeymoon, and she is nowhere to be seen, leaving her beautiful young daughter alone with you."

"My wife is very ill," he stressed, "and we are both quite busy with work."

Sango snorted in disgust. "Stop pretending. It's really none of my business. I like Kagome and I will protect her with my life if necessary, even if the one I should be protecting her from is you. However, you're the one paying me so I answer to you."

They glared at each other in silence. "How… How could you tell?" Inuyasha had been so careful to appear normal, restraining himself to the point where he thought he'd scream with the frustration of it all.

She laughed. "I knew in your office that you were in love with her and I could tell that she loves you just as much right when I saw her. And you two stare and touch much too often, and then there are times when you look at each other as though you know exactly what's under the other's clothes and you're just waiting for me to leave before you can pounce. Now, as disgusting as I believe it is with her being fifteen and you being like, five-hundred or something, she is old enough to make her own decisions. Also, since her mother isn't even present at such a crucial time, I am assuming she is not worthy of a daughter like her and that your marriage is not one of love."

Inuyasha sat, stunned. This was not the reaction he had expected from someone who knew about his affair with Kagome. In all his nightmares, they had separated them and persecuted him for daring to touch something so pure. He flushed with guilt. He had not even told Kikyo about the attacker, even after he had told Kagome he would. He had not wanted to have his time with her interrupted on the off chance that Kikyo would suddenly develop maternal concern for her offspring. Pushing his thoughts aside, he summoned all his confidence and looked at her with what he hoped was an intimidating glare. Since Kagome really liked her, he couldn't take care of this problem in his usual manner. He'd have to do things in a way the girl would appreciate, one that wouldn't leave her asking any questions.

"Do you swear never to tell anyone of this?"

"I swear. I would never ruin that sweet girl's life."

He nodded, far from satisfied, but it was the best he could do under the circumstances. He could always do things his way if she broke her word and violated her contract.

"Very well, Ms. Taijiya. You're hired."

She signed the contract in various places and he showed her to the door, hardly paying attention to the situation, lost in his thoughts. If things were so obvious, should he and Kagome tone it down? Was what they did okay just because they loved each other? There were others to consider, even if when they were together they felt like the only two people in the world. He had nearly three million employees worldwide, and if his relationship with Kagome got out, their lives may very well be ruined in addition to his own. He walked up the stairs to his room. He would have to discuss things with Kagome and formulate a plan to keep their feelings concealed if they were to continue, and of course they would.

Opening his door, he stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. Kagome lay on his bed, completely naked. She was touching herself and so close she was already beginning to shudder. Inuyasha nearly slammed the door, and she raised her head to look at him.

"You were taking so _long_ ," she said breathlessly. "I didn't mean to start without you, but it just kind of happened."

Nearly ripping his clothes off in his hurry, previous troubles gone out of his mind forever, he pounced, just as Sango had said earlier. He plunged into her, not bothering with foreplay since she had done all that herself, and they moved together as one, with him allowing himself to quickly reach the point she was at and finishing with her almost simultaneously. He rolled onto his back and pulled her onto his chest, the way he always did, and she kissed him all over his face and neck, making him smile from the ticklish sensations and her fervent actions.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for choosing Sango," she said in between kisses. "She's like a big sister. She's so nice and she's had such a hard time so it's good that we're going to be together from now on."

Bringing up her bodyguard had soured his mood. "Kagome… Sango knows," he said gravely. He had not planned on telling her but now he felt he had to.

"Knows what?"

"About this," he said.

She gasped in understanding. "Did you tell her?!"

"Fuck no, of course not!" he snapped. "She figured it out herself."

"…I guess this is a good thing," she whispered into his neck. "She was probably going to find out eventually. Better at the beginning so it's not such a shock."

"You're not mad?"

"No. Sango's our friend. I trust her."

Inuyasha nodded and reached over to turn off the lamp, ignoring Kagome's protests that she still had to study. If Kagome trusted Sango, then he would trust Sango. Maybe not as much, but enough.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Please vote in my poll! =D I am interested in what you guys would like to see next. I'll be keeping it open until the day after the final chapter of Strictly Taboo is posted. Again, your feedback means the world to me, and while I will never get all uppity and demand reviews, let's just say that there's a greater chance of me showing up in your house at night and cuddling you uncomfortably close while humming 80's love ballads if you don't take a few seconds out of your life and say "good update soon plz". Also, I know I've been starving you with these little tidbits, and all I can say is that things will start picking up again soon. Thanks for reading!


	15. Into Your Eyes

***Song for the chapter: Touched by VAST***

**Note: It's the middle of the night and I'm bored and can't sleep. It's technically Monday, so here ya go.**

Kikyo came back a week after he hired Sango, and again, Kagome did not let him touch her at all. They barely even spoke and it was driving him insane. He did not feel truly at ease, at home unless she allowed him to love her openly. Inuyasha didn't tell Kikyo anything about the attacker, and he doubted Kagome would bring it up since her mother never stayed around long enough to have a proper conversation. Trying to calm his anger at present circumstances and the cruelty of fate, he played along with Kagome and hardly looked at her, barely speaking when he drove her to and from school, mostly out of spite. Kikyo would be returning to work soon enough, and then they'd be together again. He could defy his own nature and be patient.

On the fifth night of Kikyo's constant presence, he was getting fed up. Kagome was locking herself in her room nightly without even dinner, and since she was the only one who cooked, he was again living off of greasy delivery. Kikyo never cooked and always refused when he offered to order her something, so he supposed she was surviving on photosynthesis or something. As much as he complained about Kagome's cooking, the truth was he loved it. It made him feel like they were a newlywed couple, just the two of them, the way it was supposed to be. Quietly, he got up from his seat in front of the television, which he had turned on full volume in spite of the fact that Kikyo had been there reading a book for some time before he arrived with his totally unappetizing food. He stretched and started up the stairs, resigned to an early, lonely night.

"My room has been quite chilly, Inuyasha," Kikyo announced, stopping him in his tracks.

"Do you need some more blankets?" he asked worriedly, suddenly remembering that she was dying. It was so easy to forget sometimes. If her scent wasn't tinged with that bit of sickness, he'd think she was faking.

"No, thank you," she said agreeably. "However, I would like some company this evening. You seem like you'd enjoy some company as well."

Realization slowly dawned on him and he nearly grimaced in disgust. "The best I can give you is another blanket, Kikyo."

"Are you cold, Mother?" Kagome's voice came from the top of the stairs. "I have a few too many blankets, I can give you some if you'd like."

Inuyasha's head turned in her direction so fast he thought he'd strained his neck. There she was, in her nightgown, one he had bought her. It was cotton and had rose buds all over it, ending demurely at mid-calf. She wore much more mature things when they were alone with each other, but had this gown for appearances when Kikyo was home. This was the most he had heard her speak in days and he almost choked on the feelings rising in his throat.

"You know," Kikyo said, ignoring her daughter, "I remember when you were very eager for my company. It was all I could do to get you to leave me alone for a few minutes. So wild, yet so sweet. The ideal lover."

"Stop it, Kikyo," he growled, not wanting her to talk about their past in front of Kagome. He glanced at the girl and saw her gripping the bannister, knuckles white. Her eyes were blazing with an emotion he couldn't quite pinpoint, but it was obvious she was feeling whatever it was strongly.

"You used to buy me so many, many things. Whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it and more. But even if you hadn't, I would have been happy. I was content with just you and your passions. Your love."

Kagome cleared her throat. "I guess I'll keep the blankets for tonight, then. You're welcome to them, Mother."

For possibly the first time since she had been back, Kikyo addressed her daughter directly. "When are you going to start dating, Kagome? Have you even been asked? I had my first marriage proposal at your age. I was hoping for you to have similar success. God knows we'll need a strong partner if Shikon hopes to survive after you inherit it."

Kagome flushed and glared at both of them, stomping away to her room. Inuyasha heard her lock the door. He moved to follow her and apologize, but the tone of Kikyo's voice stopped him.

"Have you made any progress with Shikon?"

He sighed. "We don't know exactly how they were sabotaging you, since they didn't seem to have had any help from inside, but all funny business stopped the moment Tetsusaiga took ownership."

"I won't be happy until we have undeniable evidence that it was Onigumo and put him behind bars for the rest of his pathetic life," she snarled, suddenly vicious. "I have another conference to attend. Some feminist nonsense about women in business. Suikotsu's on his way, I should go wait for him."

She grabbed the bag he had not noticed at her feet and walked out the door without another word, something he was more than grateful for, and he heard her boyfriend's car arrive mere seconds later. Inuyasha stood still and stared at the empty room. He'd have to bring Onigumo to justice if Kikyo were to ever rest in peace. Hell, maybe she'd start her rest the sooner he ended what seemed to be her only reason for living. If Onigumo was put in jail and Kikyo felt herself able to die, then he could keep Kagome all to himself. Shocked at his dark thoughts, he exhaled loudly. Also, what was up with Kikyo trying to get him into bed and then running off with her boyfriend? If he ever called her bluff, what would she do? Did she even expect anything from him, or was she just bored? He heard the shower turn on and he started, remembering how Kagome always bathed when she was unhappy. It comforted her, but recently he had taken on that job of soothing her unease for himself.

He ran to her bathroom and turned the knob, surprised she left it open even if she did frequently forget since they never locked doors when they were alone. Entering the steamy room, he yanked open the mirrored shower door. She turned to him, unsurprised, and he could tell she was crying even though the stream of water was pouring on her face. Without a thought, he climbed in with her, still fully clothed, and put his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. Kagome sobbed against him, finally letting it out, and he stroked her back, putting all his feeling into every touch.

Inuyasha hadn't been planning to ravish her, but she changed those plans when she grabbed his face, kissing him roughly, and placed his hand on her breast. He squeezed and caressed and she frantically unzipped his pants, still sniffling, pulling down the wet fabric until it was at his feet. They locked eyes and he saw her pain, its intensity driving him to love her more tenderly than he ever had before. She kissed him slowly, and he ran his hands over her body, reveling in the different satin slick feel of her.

Kagome broke away and stared at his chest, which was defined by the shirt sticking to his skin. Placing her hands under it but not taking it off, she stroked his abdomen and looked him in the eye, begging for what they both wanted. He grunted and grabbed her hips before sheathing his cock inside her. Her hands had dragged his shirt up and she was rubbing his nipples, stroking his collarbone. Moaning, he leaned forward and sucked on her neck, his now wet hair flattening against his eyes and impairing his vision. Desperately trying to keep his balance, he was strengthened by the feel of her hands gripping him and only him, not the shower door or anything, trusting him completely. When she cried out and arched into him, he followed, only just managing to not fall to his knees. Silently, he rinsed her off, still holding her. When he was done, Inuyasha turned off the water and stumbled out of the shower, setting Kagome down on the sink counter. He grabbed the towel she had set out and gently dried her off.

"Inuyasha?" she asked timidly. He looked at her in question and wrapped the fluffy pink towel around her. "Are… Are you my boyfriend?" she whispered.

"No," he said, shaking his head, cursing his bluntness when he saw the hurt look in her eyes return tenfold. "We're more than that. So much more," he said, raising a hand up to her face and running his thumb along her cheekbone.

"Then what are we?"

He exhaled loudly. "I… I don't know. I know I love you and only you. There will never be anyone else for me," he explained, taking out another towel to dry her hair. "You're different from _her_. I could never get over you." Kagome stared at him and said nothing, so he continued, grabbing her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "When all this is over and done with, Kagome, I'm going to marry you."

She laughed and it sounded sad. "When all w _hat_ is over, Inuyasha? I could never hurt Mother like that. You said it yourself at Christmas, remember?"

He shook her slightly. "Don't worry about it. We're going to be together for real, officially, I promise."

Shaking her head, she said, "I don't know what I was thinking," she whispered. "I should never have… I shouldn't have."

Inuyasha began to panic. He could not lose her, no matter what. "Just wait, Kagome. I swear. Just a few more months."

He kissed her forcefully and she began to respond. "Alright. I don't know what else I can do," she murmured against his lips. It was good enough for him. He could live in any world where Kagome was by his side.

"Inuyasha?" she whispered after a while.

"Yeah?"

"Do you promise you don't have any feelings for Mother?"

Inuyasha groaned internally. In truth, he had expected this question long before, but Kagome had been much too timid and unsure to ask. "Kagome, I will always feel something for Kikyo. But I love _you_."

She looked away, and then back again, her eyes hard. "It's okay if you love her too, Inuyasha, just as long as you love me more."

"I do," he assured her gently, kissing her cheek. "I do."

"Good."


	16. Love in the Aftermath

***Song for the chapter: Holy Roller by Thao & The Get Down Stay Down***

A few days later, Kikyo came back unannounced. Kagome was more than happy to see her return, her previous anger and hurt forgotten, but Inuyasha was still fuming. Fortunately, she did not address him, but instead smiled down distantly at her daughter, no teeth showing.

"Kagome, how would you like to come down to the closest Shikon factory with me this weekend?"

The girl's eyes shone and she glanced at Inuyasha, silently asking him if this was actually happening. He nodded at her, happy that she was happy, and she clapped her hands together, making Kikyo flinch at the sudden noise.

"I would love to, Mother! Should I go pack now?" Without waiting for an answer, she started humming and turned to run up the stairs.

"Wait!" Kikyo said, slightly annoyed but mostly amused at her eagerness, as if her daughter, so starved for her attention, were a small dog chasing its own tail as it urinated on the carpet. "Pack some nice things. I'm going to introduce you to a few executives, give you a tour of the factory, acquaint you with its processes, and then we'll have you attempt to channel your spiritual energy into some new products."

Kagome paled. "I-I've never had any training, Mother. I don't know how to do that."

"It's easy. You're a Higurashi, after all."

She started fidgeting and tugging on the bottom of her blouse, those signs letting Inuyasha know she was incredibly nervous, and that meant he had to be with her.

"I'll come along, too," he announced. Kagome beamed at him gratefully and he smiled at her.

"Absolutely not, Inuyasha," Kikyo said. "I can't have you distracting her. Plus, this is a factory full of spiritual energy, _my_ spiritual energy. You know how strong I am."

Inuyasha began to feel sick. He had been around Kikyo once when she had been imbuing products with her powers and the purity was so strong he had vomited blood on the spot. He turned to tell Kagome he wouldn't go, but her big gray eyes were pleading with him in such a precious way that he could not refuse.

"I'm going to go no matter what, since I technically own it until Kagome turns twenty-one," he said, for the first time reminding Kikyo of their deal.

She scowled at him and Kagome smiled. The suffering would be worth it.

"Very well, Inuyasha. But don't complain when you have to be taken away in an ambulance," Kikyo said coldly. "You better pack now, Kagome. I intend to leave early tomorrow morning."

She glided past them and up the stairs to her room, reminding him eerily of the queen from Disney's Snow White.

Kagome turned to him and asked, "What was she talking about? An ambulance?"

"Nothing, she's just being a bitch," he said softly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, ignoring her flinch at the bad word. "And nothing's going to keep me from being with you."

She placed her hand on his where it rested on her cheek, one of the few times she had shown him any affection when Kikyo was in the house, and he shivered, slight though the touch was. "Thank you, Inuyasha."

**O/\o/\O**

The building was as hard and gray as Kikyo's eyes, the polluting smoke making the sky look roughly the same. Inuyasha felt the spiritual power like a punch to the gut, but he followed the women in anyway, steeling himself for Kagome's sake. They were met by a bunch of men in suits, and he shook hands with all of them, ignoring their surprised stares. He was probably the only one of demonic heritage to even come near the place.

"Is this the Little Miss?" asked a particularly condescending man in a Stetson. Of course, he had a Texas accent, which Inuyasha thought he purposely exaggerated.

Kagome beamed at him and Kikyo nodded. "Yes, this is my daughter and future heir to the Shikon throne, Kagome. Kagome, this is our Vice President, Mr. Walker."

"And who is this, er, fella?" asked the same man, discreetly tipping his hat in Inuyasha's direction. Apparently, he was the spokesman for the entire group.

"This is my husband, Inuyasha Taisho."

Everybody nodded and glanced at each other in response to his name. Since they traveled in the same circles, they had all at least heard of him. He rolled his eyes openly; they should have known who he was the minute they laid eyes on him. Not many half-demons of his looks were married to Kikyo Higurashi. And hadn't some of them been at the wedding?

"Nice to be formally introduced to y'all," boomed Walker. "Our guide should be arriving any minute, and he can educate the Little Miss on the goings-on of Shikon's first and most productive factory."

The guide arrived as if on cue, a scrawny, malnourished man with a mustache that made Inuyasha want to yank Kagome away from him and call the police. He droned on and on in a nasally voice and Inuyasha tuned him out the entire time, instead keeping his eyes on Kagome, who had produced a notepad and pen from out of nowhere and was frantically jotting down the information in her cramped yet large handwriting. The pure energy of the place was getting to him and he began to sweat and take big gulps of air, struggling not to faint. What felt like hours later, the guide departed and he breathed a sigh of relief, only to be shown to a small room with the rest of the group. The walls were plain concrete, like the rest of the factory, and in the center was a simple round wooden table with a glucometer placed on top.

Kikyo held out her arm grandly towards the table, her perfectly manicured nails like arrowheads. "Concentrate on the light inside your soul and let it flow out your hands and into the product, Kagome."

The girl glanced around at everyone in the room nervously, and Inuyasha smiled weakly at her, feeling half his strength restored when she smiled back. Setting her notebook and pen aside, Kagome closed her eyes and placed both hands hovering over the glucometer. Her brow furrowed more and more as the seconds ticked by and nothing happened.

"Um, perhaps it would be better if you came back another weekend with your daughter. She seems to be underprepared," said a nameless executive who reminded Inuyasha of a bald weasel. He glared at the man and was satisfied to see him begin to visibly sweat.

Kikyo nodded, staring at Kagome who was now shaking with effort and humiliation. "Perhaps you are right. I had hoped she would be able to do this instinctively, but I see now I expected too much. Come away from there, Kagome, we've wasted our time."

Kagome's shoulders slumped, defeated, and already some of the group was leaving the room. Conquering his pounding head and slightly fuzzy vision, Inuyasha stumbled over to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, coming as close to her as he dared in public.

"I think you can do it," he said softly, his thumb caressing her bare shoulder, taking a second to admire her figure in the sundress she wore. "You're my angel, and angels can do anything they set their minds to," he whispered, even quieter, confident the others would not hear him over their loud chatter.

She looked up at him, her lips parted, and the emotion in her eyes made him want to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless. Suddenly, there was a bright pink light and he was flung backwards, hitting the opposite wall. Everything was chaos: the Texas guy was slapping his hat on his knee like some cartoon character, the other executives were looking at each other in awe and openly calculating figures together, Kikyo was standing stock still with a hand pressed to her lips and Kagome was crying loudly over bits of the exploded glucometer.

"Oh my god, I murdered Inuyasha!" she wailed, clumsily running towards him. She laid her head on his chest and sobbed, her arms encircling his torso and pressing him to her tightly. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew Kagome had no reason to cry like that.

"I-I'm not d-dead," he coughed out, bringing up a hand to stroke her hair. Her head shot up and she launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and nearly strangling him. He chuckled and hugged her close, kissing the side of her head before he remembered there were others around and he couldn't get too caught up in the moment.

"What the fuck happened?" he barked at the nameless lesser executives, Kagome's tears sending him into an instant rage.

"That, my dear, was the most impressive display I have ever seen," Walker nearly shouted. "Your power, although obviously untrained, is greater than even your mother's, and she is the most powerful priestess I have ever heard of."

Kikyo stormed out, eyes blank and jaw set. No one commented on her exit and for once Kagome seemed not to notice, too intent on Inuyasha. She was practically in his lap now and he wanted to leave as soon as possible in order to not tip anyone off as well as to get her out of her dress.

"Are you really okay, Inuyasha?" she asked worriedly, touching the side of his face with the tips of her fingers.

He made an assessment of his body, placing Kagome more to the side so he could have a proper look at himself. There was no visible damage and even the sickness he had been feeling before was completely gone. But how? Had he not just been blasted by her? He should be dead, at the very least badly burned and at the point of death. He grasped her hand and took in the swollen redness around her eyes, which only served to emphasize the color of her orbs and make them appear that much more beautiful. It must have been the strength of her love that kept him unharmed. Inuyasha sat up, pulling Kagome with him.

"If you'll excuse us, we must be going. I think we've had enough of this place," he said, speaking civilly to Kikyo's yes men for the first time. He and Kagome walked out together, the applause of what would in a few years be Kagome's employees following them almost until they left the building. They walked to their car without speaking, knowing they would say everything they wanted to say the minute they could be alone again and both willing to wait.

Kikyo was in the passenger seat and Inuyasha almost voiced his displeasure. She had insisted on being the one to drive them there and Kagome had sat up with her, leaving him alone in the backseat and feeling emasculated and lonely for Kagome. Now he had to drive them to the hotel and Kikyo would be sitting next to him, and judging by the icy look on her face it would not be a pleasant trip. He sighed in frustration and glanced at the girl next to him, who looked around before blowing him a small kiss and climbing in the vehicle. Smiling, he entered and started up the engine, racing out of the parking lot and toward the small hotel Kikyo had pointed out to them on the way there.

The trip was silent, with his wife stewing over something with a fearsome look on her face and his love looking out the window but not seeing anything, probably thinking about what had just transpired in the plain little factory room. Inuyasha was too afraid to turn on the radio, even though he craved some sort of distraction from the recent developments that were sure to change his life in ways he may not appreciate.

Kikyo nearly jumped out of the car the minute he pulled into the hotel lot, leaving him and Kagome alone to park it. Before he could make a move to kiss her or touch her or say something, she also left, absent-mindedly following her mother into the small but classy establishment they would spend the night in. Slamming his hands against the steering wheel, he took a deep breath and got out of the car, grabbing all their overnight bags in one hand and setting off after the two women.

When he got inside, Kikyo and Kagome were already at the front desk. They turned to him immediately as he entered, as though sensing his presence, and he gave them both a questioning smile, wondering where he could toss the bags for the night.

"Come over, Inuyasha. I've got the keys and we can head up to our rooms. Kagome has done enough damage at the factory for now, so instead of staying all weekend, we will just spend the night here and go home in the morning," she said, handing a key card to her daughter and keeping the other.

"Um, where's mine?" he asked, looking pointedly at the key card in her hand.

"We are to share a room. It is only natural, and there are no more rooms available."

He raised an eyebrow skeptically, but glancing at the clerk who was nodding along with what Kikyo was saying made him grunt in frustration.

"Then you bunk with Kagome and I'll take a room to myself," he said.

"Absolutely not," Kikyo said with a sniff. "Kagome snores terribly loud and I would never get to sleep."

Inuyasha barked out a laugh. "That's not even true! She's a nearly fucking silent sleeper," he growled out, his eyes locking with Kagome's and widening with hers, realizing he had slipped up.

Kikyo glared at him. "How would you know anything about that?" she hissed.

"I—uh," he sputtered, beginning to panic. "Ears! Demonic hearing. I hear pretty much everything that goes on in that house," he said desperately.

His wife nodded and her shoulders relaxed, making both him and Kagome relax as well. They hadn't been caught, but if he wasn't more careful then it was only a matter of time. Kagome stepped to his side and gently grabbed her bag from his hand.

"It's nice of you to worry about me, Inuyasha," she said sweetly, "but I'm okay with sleeping alone. I'm a big girl."

He nodded in resignation and followed them up the staircase to the second floor where both their rooms were. Kagome's was across the hall from his and Kikyo's and she slipped through the door without another glance at them. He threw the bags to the side and they landed on the floor instead of the chair he had been aiming for. Collapsing on the chair, he immediately began to drift off to sleep, not really caring where he was or what time it was after the stressful day.

"You're welcome to share the bed with me, Inuyasha," Kikyo said softly, enticingly. That tone used to be all it took to get him hard, but now he just felt nervous and slightly skittish.

"No thanks, I'm good here," he said shortly.

"Are you sure?" she practically purred, making him open his eyes. Kikyo, still beautiful although now twice the age he appeared, was slowly unbuttoning her blue blouse. Her bra was of black, nearly transparent lace, and he could see the mood she was in by the stiffness of her brown nipples. The small, purplish lump was grotesque in itself, but somehow did not detract much from the perfection of her breasts. He wondered how she had managed to preserve the shape of them after giving birth. That in itself was a miracle.

Shutting his eyes, he squeaked, "You know what? I'm just going to sleep in the car. I'll be fine in the car."

Still with his eyes closed, he felt for his bag, ignoring her humph in response to his rejection, and went to the door, shutting it behind him. He waited, five minutes and then ten, slowing down his breathing. When he heard the light switch flick off and the bedsprings creak, he tiptoed over to the door across from theirs and knocked as quietly as he could. The door swung back soon after and there stood Kagome, bleary-eyed and surprised to see him.

Craning her neck to check behind him, she whispered, "What are you doing?! What about—"

Inuyasha silenced her with a desperate kiss and pushed her back into the room using his body and kicked the door shut behind him. Soon she was clinging to his shirt in the darkness, clawing at it to get it off of him. Yanking her nightgown over her head, he threw it to the side, quickly divesting himself of his own clothes immediately afterward. Remembering she could not see him well in the dark room, he smiled and licked his way from her feet to her knees, nibbling every so often. He went back down and kissed every one of her toes, making her giggle and urge him to move on. Stroking her sides, he brought his face up to hers and just stayed there, staring at her mostly unseeing eyes. He knew she could see his own eyes, as they literally glowed in the dark, but not much else. No one else would see her like this, and he let out a small laugh in exaltation, quickly covering it up by kissing her lips and turning it into a moan. He could not get enough of her taste, no matter how many times his tongue danced with hers.

Turning her face to the side, Kagome gasped out, "Can we? Right now? Mother is just—"

"Kagome," he said seriously, trying to sound stern, "when I am with you, I forget about everyone and everything else. Just this once, can you do that for me? Please?" His voice cracked at the end and betrayed his own turbulent emotions.

"I love you, Inuyasha," she whispered after a pause. "I love you and only you."

Murmuring again and again how much he loved her, he plunged into her, kissing the place where her neck and shoulder met, reveling in her softness and scent. Someday, he would bite down on this very spot and they would be together forever, the way it was supposed to be. Her climax was gentle, as was his, something that they were not able to experience very often due to the secrecy of their relationship, the fact that they could be discovered and separated at any time.

As he cradled her on his chest after the act, she reached out to turn on the light, allowing her to see him properly for the first time since he had closed the door.

"Are you sure I didn't hurt you today?"

He laughed and kissed her temple. "Forget about it, you could never hurt me."

"But that's strange, isn't it? With a blast that powerful, you should not have survived. What happened?"

He shrugged, then told her his thoughts from earlier. "Maybe it was our love, yours and mine. It was strong enough to save me from death."

Kagome's eyes misted slightly and she said, "You're a closet romantic, huh?" He nodded and kissed her lips. After a pause, she said, "Mother never told me she loved me. You were the first person to ever say that to me."

Inuyasha was saddened and angry but not at all surprised by this point. He had seen them interact and their relationship left a lot to be desired. He probably would have fought against his attraction to Kagome if Kikyo had been at all caring towards her daughter.

"When I think of how she's treated you, I just… Ugh, I don't know," he said miserably.

"I know," she said, kissing the tip of his nose.

"I've been thinking. I should give you a tour of Tetsusaiga someday soon."

"Why?" she asked, surprised and confused.

"Well, technically, you are my heir. For now, anyway. The company will eventually go to one of our children once I'm ready to retire, but that won't be for a long while yet."

Her lips parted in a gasp that never came and she said, "You…want to have kids? With me?"

Chuckling, he drew her closer. "Well, I said I was going to marry you. That's kind of implied."

"Oh, Inuyasha, I love you so much," she said, kissing his chest. He thought it would end there, but when her tongue found his nipple he knew he was going to be in for a pleasantly long night.

**O/\o/\O**

Kagome was so tired in the morning that it made Inuyasha beam with pride. She even let him dress her, something he did carefully and lovingly, treating her like a porcelain doll. If he had been watching someone do this instead of being the one to do it, he would have laughed at his careful maneuverings of her half-asleep body and gentle caresses and fumblings. It was almost as though he were a servant. It would have disgusted him if he had been treating anyone but Kagome this way, but this was her and she was all his. He could do anything with her and it would be alright.

He kissed her until she was awake, laughing as she tried to talk into his mouth without quite realizing what was going on. Grabbing her hands, he pulled her to her feet, Kagome complaining sleepily all the while, her voice thick. He wanted to stay in bed as badly as she did, but he had made the mistake of sleeping in her room overnight and now they had to sneak down and wait in the lobby for Kikyo in order to not look suspicious. Finally, Kagome woke up a bit more and grabbed her bag herself, opening the door while asking Inuyasha to stop for coffee. He was about to tease her for developing a caffeine addiction, but then, at the same time, they both saw Kikyo, hand poised ready to knock at Kagome's door.

"Inuyasha? Why are you in Kagome's room?" asked his wife, glancing between the two of them.

"I was up getting a soda from the vending machine earlier when I ran into Inuyasha. He looked bored and said he didn't want to wake you, so I invited him to come to my room and watch TV," Kagome said.

Inuyasha nearly sighed in relief. He didn't know whether or not the fact she was a much better liar than himself was good or not, but he knew from the look on Kikyo's face that she had just saved both their asses for another day.

"Alright, then. If it's not too much trouble, please drive us again, Inuyasha. My legs are sore from all that walking about in the factory yesterday."

Kikyo turned and left, obviously expecting them to follow. Kagome glanced slyly at Inuyasha and kissed his cheek, skipping off after her mother. He hurried after her, the grin he sported tipping off every male he passed to what he had been doing last night.


	17. Can't Hide

***Song for the chapter: Undenied by Portishead***

Valentine's Day was quickly approaching and Inuyasha was panicking, thinking up romantic plans and wondering what to give Kagome. She acted like she didn't even know the holiday was coming up, but, after intense hours of studying her every move and facial expression until she screamed at him to leave her alone and stop being creepy, he could tell she would like something although she was not expecting anything. Racking his brain, he finally came up with something that was the best he could do without any outside help, and quickly set to work on it.

The first step would be getting rid of Kikyo.

"Kikyo!" Inuyasha called cheerfully, bounding down the stairs on the special day. She hadn't even left to go to work since they toured the factory and he was tired of being ignored by Kagome. Tired enough to resort to dirty tricks.

"Yes?" she said pleasantly, putting down her cup of tea. Her gray eyes were questioning and soft. Soft for something that looked so much like gunmetal, anyway.

"I feel bad that I've been taking up so much of your time lately," he said gently, trying to put a husbandly look into his eyes and feel in his voice. "So for Valentine's Day, I got you and Suikotsu a trip to Paris for an entire week!" He beamed at her as though it were the greatest thing ever. Truth be told, he had wanted to send them away for the rest of the month, but knowing her, she'd just put up a fight, so a week it was. He'd like to get rid of her forever, but her body was already doing that for him. A bit too slow for his liking, but there would be no need to dirty his hands with her blood. A muscle in his jaw jumped in guilt and he realized what he had been thinking.

Kikyo had a surprised look on her face, and it was not a pleasant one. "Oh. Thank you, Inuyasha, but I'm afraid—"

"Suikotsu's on his way over and I already packed your bags," he said, feeling like a game show host. "Don't worry, just go and have a good time."

Before she could protest any more, Inuyasha took her hands and led her to the door, where he had placed her suitcases just that morning, hiding them under a sheet, although he knew that would just bring attention to it. Luckily for him, Kikyo had not ventured in that direction. The doorbell rang, followed by a knock that somehow even sounded friendly, and he opened the door to see Suikotsu, who was beaming past him at Kikyo. Shoving her bags in the other man's arms, he stepped to the side and watched his somewhat dazed wife walk out the door without even a goodbye. Exhaling loudly, he leaned against the shut door and called Sango, dismissing her a few hours ahead of time, hanging up on her negative grumble of a reply.

Now for part two. He smiled and nearly began to hum as he ran to the car.

When he arrived at Kagome's school, he headed straight for the courts outside the gym. He knew her schedule, and the period right before lunch was PE. She had told him excitedly as he drove her to school that morning that her class would be playing volleyball, something she had always wanted to try but hadn't been able to due to her archery commitments. Parking close to the building that seemed much too large for just a high school gym, he jogged around to the back until he came to the chain-link fence that kept her from him.

Kagome was standing with her back to him, in an outfit he thought was much too revealing. Whoever was in charge of the girls' uniforms was most definitely a pervert. Those "shorts" were what regular women's underwear were just ten years ago! Looking around, he noticed the boys were doing what boys do, just standing around and checking out the girls, and the girl most of them had their eyes on was Kagome. He gripped the fence, barely stopping himself from twisting the entire structure into some sort of stupid modern sculpture type thing for idiots to gawk at and pay the national budget to own. The girls were standing together and whispering, glancing back at the boys while acting nonchalant. All but Kagome, who was actually trying to play the game. It brought a smile to his face, and he wolf whistled, his eyes zeroing in on her half-exposed ass and watching it bounce with each movement she made. She turned around immediately, missing the ball which would have been a sure hit for her, and broke out in a grin when she saw him. She ran over to him, the eyes of all the boys and some of the girls following her movements as though she were doing the slow motion run from Baywatch.

"Inuyasha! What brings you here?" Her eyes were glowing with her excitement and hopeful anticipation. It _was_ the day for lovers, after all.

"I pulled you out early," he said cheerily, her mood affecting his. He had called the school the week before and scheduled to pull her out for a "dentist's appointment". She seemed conflicted, glancing back at the volleyball game with a wistful expression on her face, but looked back at him with love in her eyes, her choice clear. He almost kissed her through the fence but settled for reaching a finger through a link and stroking the back of her hand which gripped the barrier. "Grab your bag and let's get going."

She nodded and scampered off to the side of the court, grabbing her yellow bag and running into the building and out again, right to his side. Taking her hand in full view of her classmates, he led her to the parked car, feeling somewhat relieved when she only blushed and did not protest. He could barely contain his excitement when once they were in the vehicle she noticed the amount of red roses littering the back. He had made sure to get real heirloom roses, not the kind they sold in every florist shop that smelled like grass. Inuyasha was beginning to regret it now that the scent was nearly overpowering, but the look on Kagome's face was worth everything.

"What's all this?" she asked, as though some part of her thought this couldn't be all for her, just like the pile of presents at Christmas.

He laughed and began heading to their destination. "One rose for every day we've known each other," he whispered, suddenly feeling solemn in the moment. "One hundred and twenty-nine."

Inuyasha risked looking at her, and tears were pooling in Kagome's eyes. Suddenly, she laughed and jumped in the back, sweeping most of the roses off the seat with one hand.

"You're so cheesy, Inuyasha."

He snorted. "What'd you go back there for?"

"Pull over and find out," she said slyly, her voice soft and smooth, almost like she was introducing the next jazz song she'd be singing.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, he saw Kagome taking off her tiny shorts along with her underwear, leaving her somewhat baggy sweatshirt on. Inuyasha swerved off the freeway into a glade of trees by the shoulder, barely missing the trunk of one, glad they had the option of this privacy. He had wanted today to be more about their relationship and romance, worried they were losing some of the emotional intimacy to the physical, but if she wanted to fuck then who was he to stop her?

He tried to jump into the backseat but was prevented by the seatbelt he was wearing. Cursing at the sound of Kagome's giggles, he clawed at the thing until it somehow unbuckled, leaving him free to lunge at her. Remembering the occasion, he kissed her lips tenderly, sweetly, before giving in to her insistent tongue and turning passionate, nipping at her lips until he tasted a faint trace of her incomparable blood. Deciding that was enough, he moved down to her neck, his hands caressing her ribs through the shirt. She giggled and squirmed, that area being one of her most ticklish spots. Somehow, she maneuvered the two of them so that he was sitting upright and she was in his lap straddling him. Pushing his back to the seat, she slowly brought her face to his, never breaking eye contact. Her tongue briefly flitted out to trace her lips and then she was kissing him, slow and intense, all while unbuttoning his shirt. Once that was done, she ran her hands up and down his chest and abdomen, smiling when she felt him shudder. Lowering her head, she kissed his nipples, a part of him she had recently become fascinated with. Kagome had not known male nipples were also sensitive, and she was obsessed with touching him there like he touched her. Inuyasha himself hadn't realized how strongly he'd react when stimulated in that fashion. Other women had tried what she was doing before and he hadn't been all that into it, but he guessed it was the fact that it was Kagome plucking at his chest that drove him so wild. He began to buck his hips into her, trying to signal that he had had enough foreplay and was ready to roll. Understanding, as she always did, she placed one last kiss on his solar plexus and removed her top, allowing him to undo her bra, throw it to the side, and tease her breasts. She unzipped his pants, her small hand fondling and stroking, then gripping as she lowered herself onto him. It was slow, agonizingly slow, but so, so sweet. Times like this were too rare. They were always rushing to fulfillment, afraid that this would be their last time. He kept eye contact as she rode him, occasionally placing kisses on her lips, cheeks, throat. She did the same to him. His orgasm triggered hers, and she threw her arms around his neck, collapsing against him, out of breath.

"I love you so much," she panted against his neck.

"I lo—"

There was a bright flash through the windshield. Startled and angry, he shoved Kagome to the side and snarled as he punched through the glass and dragged the man with the camera inside. Kagome was screaming and attempting to cover her naked body with their discarded clothes. Hearing her reminded him of what happened the last time he had killed in front of her, and he hesitated, looking the man over. He was a scrawny thing, someone who had never really grown up all the way. His hair was thinning and he wore plaid cargo shorts with a dirty white shirt, both probably from Wal-Mart or some equally disgustingly cheap store. The scraggly beard he possessed did nothing to enhance his appearance. His rage slightly diminished by the study of the pathetic creature in front of him, Inuyasha shook the man violently enough to nearly snap his neck.

"Who the fuck are you?!" he growled. "Paparazzi?"

"N-no!" the man stuttered, cowering with eyes closed.

"A PI, then?" Had Kikyo hired someone to follow him?

The man shook his head from side to side so fast one of his tears flew off his face and hit Inuyasha's, making him wince in slight disgust.

"Then what. The fuck. Are you," he said quietly, past the point of impatience.

"Just a guy with a camera, man."

"A random pervert?" he questioned, glancing at Kagome, who was covering herself with her sweatshirt, obviously already having given up on finding her shorts. She was curled as far away as she could get and staring at the two of them with wide eyes.

"Uh, not exactly—"

Inuyasha again shook him by the collar. "Then _what_?!"

When the man didn't respond, Inuyasha allowed his claws to curl into his neck, just the littlest bit, enough to scare him. It worked, and soon the creep was talking.

"Some guy came to me last night and told me to follow that girl and take pictures of her. He gave me three fuckin' thou, man. I guess I accidentally left the flash on this time."

"Describe him."

"I c-can't even fucking remember, I don't know why, I remembered right up until you asked me, just please please please don't hurt me, I didn't know—"

Taking a deep breath through his nose, Inuyasha attempted to calm himself down and slowly tried again. "Did he say why?"

"Nuh-uh, he didn't tell me why or his name or anything. He just said he'd be seeing me soon."

Inuyasha yanked the camera off from where it hung around the man's neck, smashing it against the window closest to him until it was in pieces and the glass was cracked. Bringing his now free hand back to the man who still looked as though he were about to shit his pants, he roughly patted him down, checking for other items. When he found nothing, he flung the man from him like trash, right back out the broken windshield. He watched the disgusting human run away into the sparse wilderness, limping and bleeding from where shards of glass had pierced his flesh.

Sighing, he turned back to Kagome. Wordlessly, he held out his arms to her, and she crashed into them, sobbing and shaking against his chest. After she cried herself out and he thought he must have permanently matted her hair to her skull from how many times he stroked it, she pulled away from him and he began to dress her, hooking her bra on and tugging the sweatshirt over her head, finding her shorts from where he had been unknowingly sitting on them and gently pulling them up her long legs. When she was looking as presentable as he could make her, he buttoned up his own shirt and fixed his pants, becoming embarrassed when he realized he had terrified and interrogated a man with his cock hanging out and rose petals sticking to his naked skin.

"This car is ruined now," he muttered, trying to fill the silence. "I'm gonna call Myoga to send us another one and clean this mess up."

They climbed out of the car and back to the side of the road, Kagome rubbing her thighs in the chilly air while Inuyasha barked orders at Myoga. When that was done, he opened the trunk, taking out the picnic basket he had packed with all of Kagome's favorites, buying what he couldn't make and making what he could since he knew she would appreciate it. He wanted to get the roses, but decided against it. They had fucked on them and they were probably all sorts of nasty now, having done their job. He was glad he had paid the extra money to get the thorns removed or else their rendezvous would have been far more painful. Going over to where his lady love was, Inuyasha set the basket down and sat next to her on the somewhat damp grass, trailing his fingers up and down her leg.

"Thank you, Inuyasha," she said in that sweet, soft voice she always had after she'd been doing a lot of thinking. "I'm sorry the day was ruined. What else were you planning?"

He put his arm around her shoulders, laying his head on hers when she leaned into him. "I know it's not very romantic, but I was gonna take you to my mother's grave and introduce you. She would have loved you."

Again, he smelled her tears, and she turned to him, the stubbornness of her chin showing him she was determined not to let them fall. Saying nothing and everything, she put both arms around him and kissed him softly, communicating her love with the touches of her lips. Inuyasha wondered if her stalker was still around, hoping for Kagome's sake that he wasn't. The man would die, just not today. Today was about Kagome and him, him and Kagome. Everything else could and would wait; all problems would be set aside and solved another day. All too soon, a horn honked and they jumped apart, blushing and lumbering into the town car that awaited them.


	18. Heart Heart Head

***Song for the chapter: Heart Heart Head by Meg Myers***

**Note: I admit it, this entire fanfic was a conspiracy to get people to listen to Meg Myers. Please review and vote in the poll! =]**

They ate the now cold and soggy picnic in Inuyasha's bed. The meal was awkward, with both of them pretending the ordeal with the camera guy and the car hadn't happened. Neither of them wanted to discuss it, naturally being people who avoided problems until they absolutely had to be dealt with. Instead, they traded distracted kisses and half-heartedly tried to feed each other, losing interest in games about half-way through the basket. The evening was ruined, and no amount of forced playfulness was going to bring the mood back. Finally, Inuyasha decided to call it a night, ignoring Kagome's weak protests.

"One last thing," he said, hoping this at least could bring the spark back to her eyes. "Your gift. Here," he said gruffly, suddenly shy. Pulling a long gold chain from under his pillow, he handed her the necklace. Her curiosity showed on her face and made him smirk. She took it from him, her fingers carefully opening the locket that swung from the delicate chain. Inside was a small oil painting of him and one of her. It had taken a lot of money and threats, but he managed to get it done by the best painter he knew of in only six days. He had heard the poor man had developed a cocaine habit due to his demands. Oh well, that wasn't important. He smiled softly at how tenderly she handled it.

"I have one, too," he said quietly, pulling his out from under his shirt. His chain was silver and it sparkled in the dull light. "Yours is the color of my eyes and mine is the color of yours."

"It's my second favorite piece of jewelry in the world," she said softly, stroking the ring she wore. Biting her lip and smiling, she jumped up from the bed. "I got something for you, too. Well, I made something," she said sheepishly. "It's in my room, let me go and fetch it."

Inuyasha lay back on the bed and relaxed, watching Kagome's shapely retreating figure. He had not been expecting anything from her, but anything she gave was wonderful, especially if made by her own hands. Sure, he teased her about tons of things regarding her abilities, but he did love to know she cared for him. Something made by hand was infinitely more precious than something bought. If he could, he would made the locket on his own, but it would have been much less impressive. Badly drawn crayon figures weren't something women enjoyed receiving from grown men. A scream interrupted his train of thought and wiped the dreamy smile off his face. Kagome was hurt. He ran faster than he thought possible, skidding to a stop in front of her room. The sight that met his eyes was something he'd never forget.

Hearts, actual, real hearts were scattered across her room. There must have been dozens. Blood was splattered across the walls, her furniture, the floor. He sniffed and nearly gagged. They were _dog_ hearts. He recognized them by the smell and size. The words "bitch", "whore", and "slut" were scrawled across her wall in fairly neat writing, something he was vaguely surprised by. In horror movies, it was always smeared and dripping, sloppy and careless. Taking a step into the room to comfort the terrified girl, his bare foot encountered something smooth, and he glanced down and picked it up. It was a photo of him and Kagome. They were in his bed and he was over her, staring into her eyes with an intensity he could feel just looking at the picture. They were naked and his form was slightly blurred; he must have been thrusting hard and fast, close to completion. Judging by the angle, it was taken from inside the house, probably from the very doorway of his room. How? He would have sensed it.

But there were more. Momentarily putting off soothing Kagome, he picked them up. It was easy since they nearly carpeted the floor. Tons of different pictures, all of them extremely incriminating. Him and Kagome on the dining room table, him and Kagome in the car in her school's parking lot, him and Kagome on the stairs, that time under the Goshinboku, at a restaurant, on the porch.

"I can't do this," came Kagome's strained voice. Inuyasha looked over at her. She was on her knees and clutching several photographs in her shaking hands. "I c-can't _do_ this."

The tears started, and with them came big, hiccoughing breaths. He began to worry she was going to have a panic attack. He moved to her side. "Calm down, Kagome, shhh, calm down," he said as gently as he possibly could, feeling like a kindergarten teacher. "Everything will be okay. I'll find who did this and they'll never bother us again."

Her sobs gathered volume. "But I'll still be a bad person. Mother will never love me now," she said loudly, the words distorted by her emotion.

Inuyasha immediately felt a deep guilt. "It'll be okay. I'll pick up all the pictures and call a clean-up crew and get people started on finding this psycho."

"Call the police," she yelled, clutching the photos in her hands so tightly that they crumpled.

"No, Kagome. I'm going to do this my own way," he said, firm but still gentle. Police would just complicate things, and if they actually managed to somehow stumble onto who did it, then it would be impossible to deal with the perpetrator in the way they deserved. In addition to that, cops would ask too many questions, probably get Kikyo involved, and generally ruin any time he had to spend with Kagome.

She glared up at him. "Call the police!"

" _No_. I've been alive a long time. I can do better than a bunch of idiot humans with a violent streak that didn't make it past high school."

" _I'm_ going to call them, then."

"No."

Kagome rose to her feet and they glared at each other, the tenseness of the moment nearly tangible. She made a sudden movement to try to get past him and he grabbed her, pulling her into his arms and embracing her, trapping her limbs with his own. Muffling her screams by holding her face to his chest, he lifted her up and hurried back to his room, leaving her in it and barricading the door with a table he kept in the hallway. He was determined not to look at her and succeeded, afraid the betrayal in her eyes would sway him and complicate matters unnecessarily.

He pulled out his cell phone, wincing each time he heard Kagome hit or kick the door, screaming for him to let her out. There was an edge of panic and desperation to her tone and he tried to tune her out as he informed Myoga of the situation and gave directions on a few things, leaving the rest up to him. He nearly gagged thinking about the ball the flea demon would have in the blood saturated room.

Hurrying to her room as soon as he ended the call, Inuyasha quickly snapped up every picture that littered the place, breathing through his mouth so as not to be overwhelmed by the stench, although that just made him taste it faintly. The pictures were on absolutely every surface, some of them sprinkled with blood drops, whether intentionally done or not he didn't know. Thinking quickly, knowing Myoga always managed to arrive sooner than expected, he ran downstairs and shoved all the privacy violating photos into his briefcase, determined to deal with them later.

The bell rang just as he was closing the case and he sighed in relief and annoyance. He opened the door to about half a dozen men and his assistant.

Ignoring their questioning looks, he said, "There was a suspicious man we caught taking photos of us earlier today, go and find him."

He gave them the photographer's description and the location where they had encountered him and immediately two of the men left to go and search.

The portly flea demon raised a brow and his moustache twitched. "You caught a 'suspicious' man taking pictures of you and your step-daughter and you just let him go?" he asked, barely suppressing his anger.

"He was just a human," Inuyasha scoffed.

"'Just' a human?!" Myoga roared, surprising them all. "Humans are capable of 'just' anything! How could you let him get away? You had him in your grasp. You've only made things more complicated for everyone, including yourself."

Inuyasha glared at him, for once seriously and not playfully. His employee got the picture and sighed, his head drooping wearily. Myoga led the other men upstairs, leaving Inuyasha to sit down and have a drink, something small but just enough to steady his nerves. He could still hear Kagome sobbing and knocking things over in his room. Myoga knew well enough not to pry and that was his only consolation. Sitting in his favorite chair and staring into space, he listened to his lover's sobs and screams and kicks gradually fade into nothing, knowing that she was wearing herself out. It was easier that way. About an hour after he had let the team in, they came back downstairs. Myoga coughed to get his attention.

"Er, there were no finger prints, sir. Or any other kinds of DNA. No signs of forced entry and nothing appears to be missing or moved or even touched. Whoever it was hates the Higurashi girl, that's for sure."

Inuyasha nodded slowly, feeling drained and wanting to withdraw. "Take everything and have it replaced exactly," he murmured, thinking about the white room that was now mostly red. His angel's heaven had been turned into hell.

"Yes, sir."

He heard a couple of Myoga's lackeys tramp back upstairs a few times, bringing Kagome's carpets and furniture and bedding down and out the door. Inuyasha smirked, trying to find something good in all that mess. She would have to sleep with him for sure now. Sometimes she became unnecessarily (or, as he was just finding out, necessarily) paranoid and went back to her room to sleep, leaving him cold and more alone than he'd ever been.

Finally, they left, muttering their apologies and goodbyes. He sighed and stretched, not looking forward to his coming confrontation with Kagome. He hoped she'd be asleep. She hadn't been making any noise for a while and that both calmed and unnerved him. Inuyasha made his way upstairs and to his room as slowly and quietly as he was able to, using long-forgotten techniques he had employed only when hunting in the vast forests that no longer were. Moving the table he had used to barricade the door back to its proper place, he entered the dimly lit room. Kagome was crying, had been crying. The scent choked him. She was curled up on her side on the bed, her knees against her chest, hair covering her face.

Inuyasha approached her slowly, his heart beating so loud and so strong he was afraid it would burst. Sitting down next to her on the bed, he moved the inky tendrils of hair that hid her expression from him to the side with his claws. Her face was pale, except for around the eyes where her skin was red and angry-looking. He whimpered almost soundlessly and gathered her to himself, ignoring when she pushed against him and hit his chest. Her feeble blows only made him hold her tighter, which in turn made her cry harder.

"I hate you, Inuyasha," she said miserably.

Something in him snapped at the words and he felt his skin tingle with the rage that was rising up from deep in his gut, rage that existed before but had been dormant for a long time. Taking her chin, he sharply turned her head, forcing her to face him, to look him in the eye.

"Repeat that, Kagome," he said, his voice dangerously low. "You _what_?"

Her eyes filled with new tears. "I hate you," she said, stronger now. "You made me…" she sobbed, trailing off. "You're terrible."

Letting go of her chin, he pressed her face into his shoulder, smashing the delicate features into his much harder flesh. She gasped and tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her. Her tears wet his shirt and their warmth made him feel sick.

"Hate me, huh?" he muttered, mostly to himself.

With a sudden strong movement, he pushed her down onto the bed. She was wearing no bra beneath the loose t-shirt she wore of his and her breasts bounced from the force. Too stunned to get up, she simply stared at him.

"You're the one who started this, Kagome," he said menacingly, his fingers going straight to her nipples and pinching them harder than he had ever dared in the past, making her cry out. "I guess that means you think you can end it."

"I didn't start anything!" she screamed, trying to move away. He pinned her with the anger in his gaze and she stopped moving, instead going completely rigid.

"Really?" he said, amused, still plucking at a nipple with one hand while the other teased her uncovered core. "It wasn't you begging me to fuck you all those times? Touching yourself every night, whispering my name. Trying to make me jealous with that stupid boy, then parading about in slutty short skirts."

Her eyes went wide. Kagome had never told him about her solo sessions and he smirked at her tortured, embarrassed expression.

"You bastard!" she hissed.

Inuyasha moved his fingers faster, the knowledge that she was responding to his unloving touch against her will sending dark flames throughout him.

"You hate me now, right? Even after everything I've done for you," he said dangerously, his anger building the more he spoke, his touch becoming rougher with each word. "I bought you everything, took you to school and back every fucking day, touched you just how you liked it before you even knew how you liked it. And you hate me? I guess you really are a whore, then."

He withdrew his fingers from her, just as she was on the verge of what was sure to have been a fabulous climax.

"No, no!" she screamed wildly, shaking her head, whether in opposition to his words or the absence of his touch, he didn't know.

"I'm going for a run," he said with a grunt, noticing somewhat absently that his hands were trembling just the littlest bit.

"No! D-don't leave. Please don't leave me," she sobbed, still flushed and on her back, legs spread.

Inuyasha knew he had gone too far and he hated himself for what he had done to the frightened girl below him. It had taken him by surprise how much her words had hurt him, and for the first time he had touched her without gentleness, without devotion, without love. Turning his back to her and preparing to leave, he felt Kagome press her naked chest to him. Glancing at the end of the bed, he saw the t-shirt she had been wearing looking crumpled and sad where she had thrown it. Her arms wrapped around his middle and her face was pressed to the back of his neck. He could feel her nipples poking through the curtain of hair that ran down his back. Her tears dampened his mane and touched his skin, making him shiver.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Don't leave me alone here. Not after everything. Please, Inuyasha."

Placing one hand on both of hers that were clasped around his abdomen as though trying to prevent him from getting up, he turned to her.

"Kagome," he said gently, finally seeing how miserable she looked. "Don't cry. I-I'm sorry I said those things to you. It's just—the look on your face when you said that, it just made me feel… Ugh," he sighed in disgust, not for the first time cursing his lack of verbal communication skills. "It feels like it's much easier for you to hurt me than it is for me to hurt you. It's never been like that before for me. I'm sorry."

Inuyasha wiped her tears and kissed her, wondering how she cried all the time yet never needed tissues. He never heard her sucking in snot, either. She was really his own delicate little angel.

Throwing her arms around him, she said firmly, "I need you in me."

Her demand took him by surprise. Was it because he had built her up only to leave her unfinished? He knew he'd be practically forcing himself on her if she had dared do the same to him.

All the same, he said, "No, Kagome. You've had a very shocking night. It's time for sleep."

She hit him lightly on his chest with one of her fists. "No! Inuyasha, I love you," she said seriously, almost gravely. "And you're the only person who's ever loved me. I need to be with you in that way to feel alright again. I won't be able to stop thinking about everything and wondering if you still want me unless you take me right now."

"Kagome," he breathed, defenseless as always when she told him she loved him.

Holding out her arms to him, she whispered his name and he found himself laying her down across the bed, entering her already prepared body. "I love you," he moaned, over and over until he couldn't say the words anymore, only feel them.

Afterward, they lay together, her drowsing on his chest as always. Inuyasha always placed Kagome right above his heart, as he was something of a romantic although he never vocalized his poetic thoughts or drew attention to his few sappy actions.

"Oh! Before I forget…" Kagome mumbled sleepily, reaching out and rooting around under the pillow on what she called her side of the bed even though she never slept there.

"Here!" she said, handing him a necklace. The beads were made of glass, blue and white. She placed it over his head, careful of his ears, and he immediately shuddered from the not entirely unpleasant cold feeling of it around his neck.

"What's this?" he asked lazily.

"Your gift," she said, kissing one bead. "I'm taking glass blowing as an elective and I made this necklace for you. It took me months."

Suddenly, the piece seemed much more interesting to him and he picked it up between two fingers, examining it. "These are very well done," he said, resolving to praise her more when her face lit up. "They look professional."

That earned him a kiss. "I've been practicing for months. I think I made enough beads to carpet the ocean floor."

"I love it," he said, sincerely. "And I love you."

"I love you, too," she said with a laugh. Their fight was long forgotten now, the shocking scene in her bedroom a disturbing but distant memory. "Thank you for the best day ever."


	19. Commitment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Song for the Chapter: Dominant by Emilie Autumn*
> 
> Response to Chapter 18's "Guest" and "Fan and Critic": Thank you for your reviews! They were honest and you addressed your concerns without being mean, and that's admirable. I am not going to pretend that what they share here is a happy, healthy relationship, and I will not portray it that way. I really hope the other readers realize this but want to see things become right while also realizing that may well never happen. I don't want people to think I am glorifying an abusive relationship, because I'm not (at least, that wasn't my intention). Your reaction was exactly what I wanted to inspire with this, with a few tweaks. I want you to root for them even though what they have is far from perfect or good. They are both damaged people, and when damaged people come together, it's disastrous.
> 
> This version of Kagome doesn't respect herself. She has been neglected and controlled in turns her entire life, and she has never had a father, which, contrary to the popular belief of the day, does fuck a person up. This version of Inuyasha is a spoiled brat that never had a properly formed conscience. I agree, he shouldbe begging for her forgiveness and she shouldn't be throwing herself at him. But like I said, they're damaged, and damaged people react differently to things. Kagome wasn't so much "turned on" after he said all those terrible things to her as she was hurt, and when this Kagome is hurt, she wants to feel wanted again by the one who hurt her. Inuyasha wants to feel wanted as well after he did something horrible and the only sane thing for her to do is reject him and run. That wasn't some poor attempt at a fluffy make-up scene, that was me trying to show everybody that they have very real, very serious problems.
> 
> This story will only continue to get darker, since I wanted to do something dark and all sorts of messed up, and I would like you to stay until its conclusion, but I understand if it's too much. Hell, I reread what I wrote and I think it's too much. Some people might have thought I was exaggerating my warning in chapter one, but I don't think I did. I wanted this to be wrong, and for everyone to see that it's wrong except for Inuyasha and Kagome. That was my goal, and your reviews tell me I'm reaching it. This isn't one of those mushy gushy lovey dovey stories. It's not slightly taboo, it's strictly taboo (it's that line from Witchcraft by Frank Sinatra, I freakin' love the way he sings the word "taboo", just omg), and it is hecka weird and gross. It's basically porn with some super messed up themes and messed up players putting themselves in messed up situations. I would like to apologize for totally ruining these characters, though.
> 
> Thank you for telling me your thoughts. I truly value feedback of the kind you've provided and I would love to hear more from you both and anyone else who has something to say that goes beyond the regular "good update soon plz", but even that's cool too. =]
> 
> General Note: Sorry for writing an essay at the beginning of every other chapter, peeps, but I like to reply to reviews, especially interesting ones like these. Anyway, enjoy the update and try not to hate me too much! Heh.

Their week of bliss ended when Kikyo came back from her romantic getaway with Suikotsu. Inuyasha and Kagome went back to awkwardly pretending they were barely friends. The tension was so great he felt as though he would implode or explode, whatever, whichever. Kikyo was conducting almost all her business over the phone, staying at home even more often than he was. He actually went back to work just to get away from her. Things with the company were going fine; he had managed it in such a way for so long that it could practically run itself for at least the next couple of years if he felt like it. They really only needed him there to sign off on things. The highlight of his day was seeing Kagome. He dropped her off and picked her up as usual, and even though she was almost completely silent during those times and then barricaded herself in her room immediately when they arrived at home, he cherished those moments. Just looking at her made him feel at peace, drinking in her scent, remembering all their hidden moments. And then they'd arrive at the house and that peace would fly out the window the minute she ran off and he was left alone with his wife.

It was a night like any other when all the unspoken tension reached a head. He knew Kikyo was confused about why he was being so distant, and her confusion made her angry. He was already angry, so that was a recipe for disaster. Kagome was in her room sleeping, forgoing dinner as she had so many times before. Her behavior worried him and he would have liked nothing more than to go upstairs and forcibly make her eat one or two things. Unfortunately, she was dead set on depriving him of her company and had made sure to lock her door and windows (he had checked them, repeatedly). With nothing better to do, he decided to actually talk to Kikyo, which would hopefully calm her down and make her stop being so snappy with him and Kagome and whatever unlucky bastards she conducted business with over the phone and Skype.

Inuyasha was leaning against the counter across from the refrigerator while his wife looked through the machine's contents for something suitable to eat. His grouchiness returned full-force. If Kagome were the one looking through the fridge, she'd prepare something from whatever they had and it would be great and she wouldn't complain about his intermittent shopping.

"You should really start to train Kagome, Kikyo."

Without stopping what she was doing, she grumbled, "To do what? Archery?"

"No, with her priestess powers crap," he said irritably. It should have been obvious.

Kikyo stood straight up and closed the fridge door in one fluid motion. She glared at him and snorted. "If she's so powerful then she doesn't need any help from me. She can just train herself."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Why are you so jealous of her? She's your daughter, your only child. You should be fucking proud."

"The girl may look like me, but that is the only proof she is mine. She is lazy and rebellious and without all the work I've done with her upbringing she would have ended up as just another whore on some street corner by now. Why should I be jealous of something like that?"

Inuyasha couldn't believe what he was hearing. His hands gripped the marble counter so tight he thought he'd break it. "Some _thing_? Kagome? She is not a _thing_. Do you even know her at all?" he spat out, enraged. "At least tell me you love her, in your own cold and twisted way. You do, right? You have to."

She laughed and the sound made goose bumps appear on his flesh. "I have to do no such thing. She is my only heir, unfortunately, and I have provided for her. That is as far as my maternal feelings extend."

He remembered what Kagome had told him about the baby in the box. He didn't fault Kikyo for her decision, it was her right after all, but that could have so easily been Kagome, his reason for living. What had made Kikyo keep her first child, he did not know, but he was grateful.

"You— How can you? How can you hate her?"

One side of her mouth lifted up in what he thought was deranged amusement. "The fact that she looks like a product of asexual reproduction helps greatly. She was so greedy, even before coming into the world, stealing my appearance. She will steal my company after my death, death by the misery and strain she caused with all her selfish, willful ways." Her brows furrowed and her eyes blazed and she seemed very far away. "Tormenting me night and day with her idiocies, always demanding more, more, _more_. More food, more attention, more _blood_ and _sweat_ and _tears_."

"Stop!" he broke in, shaking his head. He was begging now, he did not want her to change the way he saw her. "You don't mean it, Kikyo, please stop."

That seemed to get through to her and her eyes lifted to his, slowly focusing, just barely. "And now she's stealing you," she whispered in a high voice that was so unlike hers.

He froze. Oh God, she knows. "I-I'm not— She—"

"You are her father now. She is stealing you away from your work, your life, your very sanity. And you allow it because you pity her. She is a curse. Your company will fail like Shikon and then she will absorb even your existence just as she has absorbed mine," the naked hatred in her eyes and voice dissipated somewhat. "I know you are fond of her and think of her as your own child, but just because she wears my face does not mean she is like me at all. She ruins everything she touches."

She didn't know. His relief was so overwhelming it left him dizzy, leaving him grateful enough to be generous with her.

"Kikyo," he said after taking a deep, calming breath. "I know that everything seems terribly difficult right now, but don't say those things. That's just the despair of your situation talking. I'm going to find you a doctor, a psychologist. Then you can work out these thoughts you've been having. Just imagine how bad you'd feel if Kagome had overheard you."

She laughed, short and cruel. "My body is in decay, not my mind. You think she doesn't know these things? I've been telling her all her life. Things like her need to know their place in this world. Just because she's inheriting a top company and prestigious position doesn't mean she's any less of a monster."

That was it. He grit his teeth together and approached her, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her as hard as he dared.

"Stop it! You don't know what you're saying!" he hissed, wanting to yell but being considerate of the girl upstairs.

She smiled brokenly and reached out a hand to touch his face, caressing him as gently as he had shaken her roughly. "Oh, I do, my love. She ruins everything. She destroyed my life and took even the broken pieces that were left over. She is killing me every day. I should have terminated the pregnancy right when I found out, had her ripped apart before she overwhelmed me, but I—"

Inuyasha slapped her, without even meaning to. Her head flew to the side and he stared at his hand. Kikyo tried to turn her head forward again and he slapped her once more, this time fully aware of his actions. He knew it was wrong and he hated himself, but he hated her more. There was a dark, itching feeling inside of him and he wanted her gone, out of his life and Kagome's. He felt like hitting her again even as his mind protested, and he raised his hand.

"Inuyasha, no!" screamed the subject of their conversation.

His head shot up and he saw her in the doorway, tears running down her face. How long had she been standing there? He had been so consumed by this new, powerful hatred for Kikyo that he had not noticed her arrival. Letting go of the hold he had on his wife's collar, he watched dazedly as she fell hard to the floor, silent and unmoving but still conscious.

"Mother!" Kagome sobbed, running past him without even bothering to glance in his direction. She knelt and flung her arms around Kikyo's neck, holding her to herself and shaking with the force of her tears. Kikyo looked at him over her daughter's shoulder, that same deranged amusement from earlier back in her eyes.

"See, Inuyasha? Do you see how she cries for attention even when she is grown and I have been struck down?"

He clenched his fists and fought the urge to rip Kagome from this beast and take her away, far away until all of their problems and obstacles faded into nothing.

"Mother, you can stay with me in my room tonight. I won't let him hurt you again."

His heart felt like it had been put in a very slow blender with very dull yet determined blades. Inuyasha longed to reach out and hold Kagome, explain to her why he did what he did, cradle her in his arms as she was now cradling her mother, but he could not even speak let alone move. The fear of having their secret discovered and the fear of her rejection were too great.

"Get off of me, Kagome. Inuyasha has hurt me far less than you have."

Kagome's sobs stopped from the coldness of her mother's voice and Kikyo roughly pushed her away, hard enough so that the girl fell backwards. Inuyasha caught her before her head hit the tile, holding her firmly and protectively in what he hoped appeared to be a fatherly way. Kagome did not protest his touch and he doubted she even felt him there. Kikyo stood over them, looking very thin and very tall and very sharp and very cold. Her features twisted in a sneer and she looked like she might spit at her daughter, but of course she didn't. No matter her emotions, Kikyo was never one for such blatant acts of indelicacy.

"I will be going to Suikotsu's," she announced, straightening her already straight black cardigan. "While I am gone, try and examine your actions to see how they led to the events of this night, Kagome. I will not have you blaming anyone but yourself for this."

She turned and glided out the door, shutting it noiselessly behind her. This seemed to bring Kagome out of her trance and she attempted to scramble out of Inuyasha's grasp, screaming, "Mother! Don't go. Wait for me, Mother!"

Kagome tried and tried to squirm her way out of his arms but Inuyasha would not give. He held her tight, drawing her back to his chest and embracing her. Her movements became more frantic and she took great sobbing breaths.

"Let me go!" she screeched. "Don't touch me. I need to go with Mother. _Mother_!"

Her legs kicked uselessly in front of her and he began to rock her gently in an attempt to calm her down, murmuring how much he loved her and how sorry he was into her now sweaty hair, knowing that she could not hear him over her panicked shrieks. She lunged backward, trying to knock him over, and when that didn't work she slammed the back of her skull into his face, actually managing to draw blood from where a fang pierced his lip. He cursed and shook her, not too hard, nothing like how he had shaken Kikyo, not allowing his grip to loosen, letting out a low growl. That seemed to do the trick and she gradually stilled, allowing him to turn her around and press her face into the crook of his neck. She cried for nearly twenty minutes, sobbing hard and nearly choking a couple of times, calming down as he stroked her back and nuzzled her hair with his cheek. He wondered at how one so young could possess so many tears. He had lived for several brutal centuries and he knew for certain that the pain she was experiencing in this moment exceeded the total amount of emotional suffering he had endured in his lifetime. His parents had loved him, and that love had carried over even after death, making him confident and secure. What was Kagome feeling? He couldn't even imagine.

The small girl in his arms stopped crying and only sniffled from time to time, her arms limp at her sides, legs curled around him. He continued rocking her and stroking her back as comfortingly as he was able and finally she brought her head up, her watery eyes boring into his.

"Why did you hurt Mother?" she whispered, her voice scratchy and slightly lower.

Inuyasha blanched. He had completely forgotten about that. He felt guilty for not feeling guilty about it, and he felt guilty that Kagome had witnessed his first (and hopefully last) act of domestic violence, but that was as bad as he could make himself feel about the whole thing, and that wasn't very much. However, his shame magnified a hundred times under her heartbroken gaze.

"How much did you hear?"

"…Everything," she whispered, a tear falling from each eye and migrating their way down her cheeks, racing each other to her neck.

He had hoped she had only arrived to see what he was now calling Kikyo's punishment. Knowing that she had heard everything the woman had said made him feel sick to his stomach.

"I'm so, so sorry, Kagome. I-I don't know what made her say those things."

"She's right, though. Look at me," she said, letting out a miserable laugh. "I'm evil. I did steal you." The tears were beginning to fall faster and he panicked, not wanting to again see her as broken as she had been just moments before. "All I ever wanted was for her to love me."

"Look at me, Kagome," he said sternly. "You did _not_ steal me from anyone or anything. I gave myself to you from the moment we met. I was born for you and you for me. You are _good_. You are _pure_. Not even I can take that away from you."

She kissed him, gently, lovingly, right on the spot where his fang had pierced his lip. It had already healed, but he could feel the bit of dried blood still there.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," she said, quiet and ashamed.

"It's nothing. I love you. So, so much." He kissed her on the corner of her mouth, feeling it tremble.

"Why?"

"Hmmm?" he said, distracted. In his mind he was mapping out the kisses and touches he would give her, recalling the different places and pressures that made her smile.

"Why do you love me?" she croaked, voice still rough from crying. "Is it because I look like Mother? Or do you just prefer young girls?"

"Wha— Hey!" Now she had gotten his full attention. "I'm not some heartless pervert. I wouldn't—"

"Do you even really love me?" she asked tremulously, her big eyes searching his face. "I can't believe this is the first time I'm questioning this. I'm so _stupid_. Why would someone like you love me? I'm nothing. Worse than nothing. It's just like Mother said—"

Inuyasha kissed her, holding her by the hair and tilting her head back, furiously probing her mouth. Kagome was working herself up into a frenzy, Kikyo's words nearly undoing all the work he had done on her heart. Pulling away, he glared at her as she tried to catch her breath.

"You are _everything_ ," he said hoarsely, his heart aching at her lost expression. "What do I need to do to prove it to you? I'll marry you tonight. Take you away somewhere far off. I can live with the disgrace. I can live without the money or anything else. You are _everything_ to me. But am I everything to you?"

Her eyes were wide, tears no longer falling but instead frozen on her face, clinging to her impossibly long and thick lashes. Her mouth dropped open in a shocked gasp. "I-Inuyasha, we can't—"

Untangling his hand from her hair, he muttered, "That's what I thought."

"Inuyasha—"

"It's okay, Kagome. You're young and I've lived a long, long time. You don't know what you want and I do. That's just the way it is. I just wanted you to know you're not the one who should be insecure. I'm yours forever." He tried to sound cavalier about it and failed miserably, his voice breaking towards the end and his ears drooping.

"I… I love you. But I'm scared. I want us both to be happy and not have to hide, but I don't know if we can ever have that. You and Mother are both subject to a lot of public scrutiny and she does love you. I don't know—"

"Your mother is sick, Kagome," he interrupted, not wanting to lie to her any longer. All loyalty to Kikyo had shriveled and died in him.

"I know she said some hurtful things, but that's no reason to call her that."

" _No_. Your mother is _sick_ , she's ill."

"W-what? She's— What's wrong with her?" Her eyes had gone wide again and he could hear her heart beat speed up. Part of him regretted telling her, but now that he had let it slip he just kept going.

"Breast cancer. Inoperable. She only married me to make her company profitable again and protect it until you took over."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "No. That's— You're lying." Kagome had a wild look in her eyes and he mentally cursed Kikyo for everything she had ever done to the precious girl-child in his lap.

"I wouldn't lie about this, about anything," he insisted. "I hated keeping the truth from you and after tonight I had no reason not to tell you everything."

"But why didn't she tell me?!"

"She said something about wanting your last days together to be natural. If this is natural," he ranted, "then I have no idea why—"

Kagome started crying again, quietly this time, and he quickly grabbed her, putting her in the same position as before and comforting her yet again. She wound down after a few minutes and he idly wondered what time it was. He would keep her home from school tomorrow so she could rest.

"You know, Mother never comforted me like this. Not even when I was a baby."

He was surprised at how steady her voice sounded, and how empty. She seemed so calm and that scared him.

"Urasue told me that Mother used to leave me in my crib for days, only allowing her in my nursery once every five hours to check on me." Her gaze was dull and Inuyasha stroked her hair, only just holding back from demanding she come back to him from wherever she had drifted away to. "She said she snuck in once, worried because I had stopped crying, and she saw Mother standing over me with a pillow on my face. I never believed her, she was always kind of crazy and a drunk, but I don't know now."

"Kagome," he whispered, horrified. He didn't know what to say so he just held her tighter.

"Mother used to tell me stories about you. That was the only time I would ever see love in her eyes when she looked at me, but even when I was little I knew it wasn't for me, but for you. And I loved you too, because she did. I've loved you all my life."

Inuyasha murmured how much he loved her and tried to bring her head up so he could kiss her some more, then hopefully change the subject so he would not hear things that would make him want to murder his dying wife. Instead of complying with his wishes, Kagome burrowed her face into his neck and clung to the front of his shirt, the feel of her little fists grasping him so desperately making him melt inside from a thousand different feelings which when put together equal love.

"When she'd get angry," she continued, "she'd tell me about my father, about how I was her on the outside and the worst parts of him on the inside."

"Your father?" So Kikyo had lied to him about that "wild winter in Europe" shit, just as he'd thought.

"They were together for years before he broke it off right before the wedding. On New Year's Day, too. What a bastard," she said bitterly.

Everything in him came to a stop and all he could say was, "W-what?"

"He left her on New Year's. She was already pregnant with me and tried to tell him, but he wouldn't listen. He refused to speak to her."

"And when…when was this?" he asked shakily.

"Sixteen years ago. I told you, she was already pregnant with me." Kagome nuzzled her face closer into his shoulder and he stroked her hair robotically. He had not done the math before; why, _how_ had he not done the math before? But that was impossible! Even with the stories Kikyo told her daughter, it couldn't be true. There was always Onigumo. She had been with them both around the same time.

"How did your parents meet, Kagome?" he croaked out.

She sighed heavily. "Some dumb party for wealthy business people where everyone networks instead of having fun. You know the kind. She told me how she noticed him right away because he was wearing a bright red shirt and practically raping the hors d'oeuvres table, ignoring everyone who tried to speak to him or shake his hand. I really hope I'm not as alike him as she said."

Inuyasha couldn't breathe. He remembered that party. He had been slightly rougher before Kikyo had entered his life and tamed him, teaching him how to behave, her lessons remaining long after she had fled. It was a real Beauty and the Beast moment, he could almost see their montage now. Of course there was never any wild winter in Europe. That was so out of character, not that he had ever believed it. And she had once said how he reminded her of Kagome with his stubbornness. And on his first human night with her, when Kagome had mentioned how their hair was similar, and the violet-blue flecks in her eyes that matched the flecks in his…

But that couldn't be. It just wasn't true. But, then again, was it so hard to believe? The dates matched up and everything Kikyo had told Kagome seemed to indicate that— But no! He had not sensed or smelled any demonic blood in her. It was impossible. He had been drawn to her at first sight, drawn in a way unlike any other he had ever experienced. But was that love at first sight, as he had thought, or had he on some level recognized her as kin? No. If that were true, then he had taken her virginity in the same bed she was conceived in.

It couldn't be. The universe was not that cruel.

He heard Kagome gasp and he opened his eyes, not knowing when he had closed them.

"Inuyasha, you're bleeding!"

She touched her delicate fingers to his lips and he flinched, not out of pain but because of that small contact with her. He had bitten his tongue, hard, and his mouth was full of blood, some leaking out the corner from between his lips, which was what she had noticed.

"I'm sorry for complaining so much and for hurting you," she whispered lovingly, fingers tracing his lips. He felt bile rise up and he fought it down, turning his face from her and taking deep breaths through his nose. It was not true. It could not be true.

Kagome rocked her hips against his groin, startling him, and softly kissed his cheek, trailing her way down his jaw. He swallowed hard and nearly choked on all the blood he had forgotten he carried in his mouth, fighting the urge to look at her. Shifting slightly in his lap, he saw her remove her silky peach nightgown over her head and toss it behind her. She was completely naked now and his body was responding while his mind was close to bursting.

"Don't feel bad or sad or guilty about everything that happened tonight. I love you so much, I can't be mad at you. I understand why you do the things you do. Please look at me," she said softly.

His head turned without his permission and he saw all of her beauty. The lust and love he always felt when seeing her bare before him now made him nauseous. Her face leaned closer to his and he could not move, trapped by her gentle intensity and his own warring feelings. Closing her eyes, she kissed him sensually, somehow luring his tongue out into her mouth and sucking on it, slowly taking his blood into herself. Inuyasha moaned, guilty and disgusted with himself, and his hands drifted to her soft, naked rear.

"Take me now, Inuyasha. I want you so bad I can't wait for you to carry me to your bed. Do it as hard as you like, I'm so wet already."

"Ka—go—me—," he panted, beginning to forget why he was resisting her. She had been stepping up the dirty talk, knowing how it drove him wild to hear her say naughty things in her sweet, clear voice. Kagome was still a little shy, and although he knew she enjoyed him getting a little rough with her, she always acted like she was doing it just for him, not because she wanted it. It was always better when she got like this, and he could tell that after the fight earlier and their talk she was in a wilder mood, willing to do things she usually only blushed about when he brought them up. Sometimes, she showed her gratitude with sex, something he would never complain about.

Her hands tugged at the hem of his t-shirt, practically ripping it off of him in her hurry, and she licked her way down his front with her clever tongue, kissing his nipples teasingly and running her slim fingers up and down his abdomen. Noticing his lack of participation, which was obvious as he was usually on her and in control long before now, she doubled her efforts, sucking at the spot on his neck that always drove him crazy. When that only made him clench his fists, she smiled and placed a hand on his crotch, rubbing him through the rough material of his jeans. She pressed her lips to his, sucking on his lower lip and biting hungrily. He whimpered and wrapped his arms around her, not able to take it anymore.

She couldn't be, he couldn't be.

_And_ , the dark part of his mind whispered, _so what if she is?_ Nobody would know but him. Kikyo would be dead soon enough, and she didn't know what he and Kagome did together. He already loved her, wanted her, needed her too much to let her go, even with the knowledge of something like this. That was it, they were already too steeped in their sin that stopping wouldn't make much of a difference. He could handle knowing as long as he had her by his side, and he would never tell Kagome. She wouldn't stay with him if she ever found out that he was really her father. She loved him, but not like he loved her. The knowledge would destroy her.

Growling savagely, he pushed her to the ground, this time not catching her before she hit it. She moaned in pleasure at his rough treatment of her and he pinched her nipples, turning it into an excited scream. Inuyasha bent down and sucked hard on the pink peaks, hearing her frenzied moans and gasps and humming a moan against her breast in return, every sound she made turning him on further, increasing his dark lust. He danced his fingers around her clit, teasing her and making her squirm.

"Beg for it, Kagome."

Her face scrunched up and she whined, "P-please!"

"You'll need to be more specific, my angel," he said gruffly, his mouth watering in anticipation yet leaving his throat dry, his fingers pinching her clit just to hear her squeal.

"Fuck me hard, Inuyasha!" she cried out, her face flushing beautifully, probably more in embarrassment than anything else, but he'd take what he could get. "Harder than ever before," she added in a humiliated whisper, turning her red face away from him and pushing her hips up.

"Yes," he hissed, sliding into her slowly and kissing her cheek. "Such a good girl, Kagome. My good girl."

He had said the words to her before, but now they took on another meaning and he snarled at his thoughts, pushing them away.

"I've always been yours," she whispered, brushing his bangs from her eyes.

His lust was cut through with a love so tender it nearly made him weep. Staring adoringly into her eyes, he kissed her gently on her perfectly plump lips. It couldn't be true. He would forget about it. And if it somehow was? That was okay, too. This girl was sent to save him and he was sent to save her.

It was difficult to fuck her roughly with such thoughts in his head, but he managed, holding her legs as far apart as they could easily go and then some. Her breasts bounced with each thrust and she kept eye contact with him, which she knew he preferred, although her gaze was cloudy with lust and her eyes shut with every particularly swift hit of their flesh. He groaned and panted loudly, watching the sweat collect at her temples. He wanted to taste it, so he did. Kagome was close, and that always meant that he was too. Inuyasha thrust into her wildly and her moans and sighs and gasps rose to a higher pitch, finally becoming a desperate, beautiful wail as she clenched around him tightly and squeezed his own orgasm from him. Collapsing, he laid his head on her breast, breathing hard onto a nipple. She shivered and he kissed the nub before withdrawing from her and rolling over onto his back on the cold, hard tile. He sat up, uncomfortable. How had Kagome been able to lay down there for so long? He looked down at her. She was still flushed and gasping, their mixed juices leaking out from between her thighs. Grabbing his discarded shirt, he cleaned her and the floor, making sure no trace of their passion remained.

Later, after he had carried her limp form up the stairs and situated them in their usual sleeping position, he said, "Hey. Are you still awake?"

"Mmmm," she frowned, eyes still closed.

"Do you, um, ever want to find your real dad?"

"No," she said sleepily. "Anyway, you're my dad."

"W-w-what?" he sputtered.

Kagome opened her eyes and tapped his nose playfully with the tip of her finger. "You know what I mean, _Papa Yasha_. You protect me and love me like a father should and also how a lover should. You're my everything too, Inuyasha."

He relaxed and kissed her softly. "Yeah. I love you so much, Kagome. Never leave me, no matter what."

"I don't think I could even if I wanted to," she murmured, drifting further into dreamland. Inuyasha lay awake all night, never taking his eyes off her. He would protect what was his and he would never, ever lose her.

No matter what.


	20. Wicked Games

***Song for the Chapter: Wicked Games by Coeur de Pirate***

"For the last time, Inuyasha, I am going to school!" Kagome huffed, irritable and adorable. He had wanted to keep her home today after their rather late night but she refused, going on about tests and studying and other stuff that he didn't care about in the least.

"Kagome," he whined playfully, dragging out the last syllable of her name. Getting angry would only cement her desire to leave. "We could have a lot of fun at home," he said suggestively, raking his eyes over her body with a purpose.

She raised an eyebrow, unaffected. "We had 'fun' all night and you woke me up with 'fun'. I'm all funned out for now. I've got important things to do today."

Inuyasha cursed his rather enthusiastic waking of Kagome that took place just minutes before. Seeing her curled up on him like that so innocently, feeling her naked body against his had just excited him to the point where he had forgotten his plans and ravished her. "Whatever, just let me drive you. Sure you're not tired?"

Holding back a yawn, she nodded and left to go get dressed, leaving him to lament his actions and pull on his discarded pair of jeans from the night before and a shirt he found hiding half under the bed. That done, he ran downstairs, not at all surprised to see Kagome already waiting for him. She was always quick in the morning, regardless of her level of energy. Seeing the sunlight in her hair brought out a tenderness in him, and he took her hand, surprising her, and didn't let go until they arrived at her school, kissing the tip of each finger before he let her leave. Just that was enough to make her blush and she hurried away, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before she disappeared into the sea of hormonal humanity that filled and surrounded the ostentatious building.

Deciding to go home rather than to work, he drove as slowly as he could, provoking many a driver to honk their horns and flip him off. One enraged commuter even threw a cup of coffee at his car, but he hardly noticed. All he could think about was Kagome. Didn't she see how terrible he felt when she left him for her stupid education? She was smart enough already. She didn't need strangers telling her what to think. He knew she still wanted to be a nurse, but that didn't mean she had to attend school every damn day. He had brought up homeschooling her but she was horrified, saying how she'd never get any work done and he would never let her go outside again. As true as that statement might be, he didn't want her to see him as another Kikyo, someone who would confine and repress her, thus his lack of an attempt to really convince her to stay that morning.

Pushing through the door he had left open, Inuyasha resigned himself to another day of staring at the door and waiting for her to return. Suddenly, hands gripped his face and turned it to the side. Kikyo had come back, he realized belatedly, her unwelcome scent invaded his sensitive nostrils. She pressed her lips to his, trying to force her tongue in his mouth. He gripped her wrists, his lingering traces of guilt being the only reason why he had not flung her from him immediately. He needed to respect her, in spite of everything. She had raised their child alone, after all. Even if he did not approve of how she had gone about bringing her up, Kagome was a good girl and he had to give her mother something for that, and that something might as well be feigned kindness covering up his barely restrained fury. He twisted away from her, trying to keep his face blank.

"Don't push me away, Inuyasha. I know you still want me."

"What the fuck gave you that idea?!" he growled, exasperated.

"You hit me. You stopped me. You didn't want to see me like that and you did what you had to in order to snap me out of it," she said eagerly, her eyes shining with energy and life in a way he had not seen since before they broke up. "Now I'm giving myself to you. I won't hold back like I did before."

"Get away," he said, keeping his voice low and steady, adding in an ounce of a threat for good measure. He dropped her hands. "I'm in love with—someone else," he finished, catching himself just in time.

Kikyo's eyes narrowed dangerously. "It's that bodyguard of Kagome's, isn't it? I was wondering why you'd choose a woman to do a man's job."

He had not realized she knew about Kagome's bodyguard. He himself forgot about her frequently. "No, Kikyo, it's not Sango. You don't know her." Technically, he wasn't lying. She really didn't know shit about her own daughter.

She said nothing, her glare filling the silence. "I see," she said quietly, breaking the long pause. "Then you would prefer that I leave?"

Inuyasha nodded, not looking at her. She had expertly covered the bruise he had given her with thick make-up, but he could still see it. Others would see it. Childishly, he wanted to ask her to hit him back, as hard as she wanted, as many times as she wanted, but he knew it wouldn't make either of them feel better and she would probably just end up hurting herself.

Kikyo left without another word, but he could smell her tears and almost feel her pain.

**O/\o/\O**

After spending about eight hours dicking around doing nothing, he was excited to see Kagome again. Inuyasha knew it probably wasn't healthy to just wait around for her all day, but he couldn't help it. He was in love, and it was better than ever. Nearly humming the entire car trip, he finally arrived at Kagome's school after an agonizing fifteen minute drive. She ran to the car as soon as he entered, which was their usual routine, but this time she did not have a smile on her face.

"Hey, did you tell Sango to leave?" she questioned, without even giving him a proper greeting.

His brow furrowed. "No, she was supposed to be with you all day today like normal."

"That's strange," she said, sounding concerned. "I was in line for lunch and asked her to get me a seat and she just disappeared. I thought you had called her away or she had an emergency or something. I looked all over and called her like a billion times but she never answered."

Inuyasha was now as concerned as Kagome was. Kikyo's face flashed in his mind, their conversation from earlier where she had detailed her suspicions coming back to him. He had thought nothing of it at the time. She was jealous, and that was too bad, but they were no longer really together so she'd just have to suck it up and deal. But he'd seen the way she'd treated Kagome, her own flesh and blood. What would she do to someone she had no obligations to, someone she thought threatened her position, what she'd worked to achieve regarding him? Kikyo was not as passive as everyone seemed to believe. Her emotions ran deep and strong. She was as capable of murder as he was, only she would justify it whereas he never even bothered to do that anymore. In his eyes, that made her much more dangerous. If she came up with what she believed to be a good reason for doing something horrendous, the deed was as good as done and she'd have that holier than thou attitude of triumph that made him want to roll his eyes and pretend to gag.

"I think we should go look for her. Let me park and show me where you last saw her."

She nodded and stepped out of the car, glancing around her worriedly. When he jogged back to her, she led him into the high school, which was empty but for a few depressed teachers and some lonely kids whose parents had not yet shown up. His nose was working overtime trying to pick up the bodyguard's barely remembered scent, but all he could smell was grease and perfume and sweat and sexual tension and stress and all those things that fill your average building full of teens.

"Sango!" Kagome called out desperately. "Sango, where are you?!"

Inuyasha wanted to tell her to shush but stopped himself, knowing it would hurt her feelings and she just wanted to feel useful. So he joined her, but in a much lower voice.

"Sango! I don't fuckin' pay you to run off!" he yelled, his fear for the fate of the young woman he had barely met yet been so impressed by increasing by the minute.

They went around and around the building, checking every classroom, even the gym. They asked a few burned-out looking teachers if they had seen the young woman but they just shook their heads and continued grading papers, irritated at being interrupted but so dead inside they couldn't even snap at the couple that broke their concentration. Inuyasha began feeling like he was in _The Shining_ , expecting to see those creepy twin girls every time he turned into yet another hallway with flickering overhead lights, or that bloody bathtub lady whenever he opened a door. Kagome seemed unperturbed by the obvious horror movie potential of the building she spent all her days in, so he took the backseat for a while and let her lead him around.

Finally, the girl gave up, and he was somewhat relieved although he immediately felt guilty for feeling that way. She pushed through the double doors at the end of the building's first floor angrily, trotting down the stairs and onto the concrete sidewalk of the alley behind the school. Frustrated and close to tears, she threw up her hands.

"Where _is_ she? SANGO?!" she screamed, louder than ever before, loud enough to make him wish she had given him a warning so he could have covered his sensitive ears.

He heard a slight rustling somewhere near them and he froze, putting a finger to his lips and motioning for Kagome to stay still. She got the picture and kept her position, hands still in the air, eyes wide and scared. They waited, but the sound didn't come again. Instead, his nose picked up a faint whiff of a vaguely familiar scent, something he had smelled in person twice and after that only barely clinging to Kagome when she returned from school.

"Over here!" he called out, excited yet still apprehensive.

Kagome broke out into a grin, her mind not jumping to the worst conclusions like his was. He envied her innocence and loved it, vowing to keep her that way, to preserve everything that she was to the best of his ability. Inuyasha smiled at her gently, and held up a hand to stop her from coming closer. The smell of Sango, her bodyguard and friend, was heavy with fear and nearly covered up by blood and trash.

She was in the dumpster.

He carefully, quietly made his way over to the dumpster at the end of the alley. Its lid was down, which was strange since those monstrosities were usually open for the sake of convenience unless it was collection day, which judging by the relative lack of ripeness coming from the canister was certainly not today. He flipped up the lid with the edge of his claws, not wanting to leave fingerprints that would confuse his team. There she was, as he knew she'd be. She looked so broken and pained that he nearly grimaced and cursed at her fate, only holding back when he remembered Kagome, whom he would rather not tip off to the state of what he was pretty sure was her best friend. The attractive, muscular woman was not dead, but she might as well be. She was covered in bruises and her own blood, barely recognizable. Inuyasha could tell that both arms and legs were horrifically broken, the bone protruding through the skin and visible. A few of her teeth looked to be knocked out as well and he'd bet money on the fact that her spine and ribs were broken too. It was cruelty that whoever had done this had kept her alive, and he knew only a few people capable of that kind of cruelty who had a motive.

"Did you find her?" asked Kagome anxiously. Quickly, he slammed the lid shut again, flinching at the loud noise it made. He didn't want Kagome to see Sango like that.

"Uh, yeah," he said awkwardly. He stopped Kagome when she hurried to check on her friend, grabbing her around the waist. "Don't look. Just… don't look."

"Oh God," Kagome gasped, her tears already streaming. "Is she—"

"No."

Inuyasha held her to him and let her sob.

"This is my fault. _My_ fault."

Making soothing sounds and rocking her from side to side by swaying, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He had become quite good at consoling Kagome since her tears were almost always his fault.

"Myoga, send a team and an ambulance. Kagome's body guard, um, ran into some trouble." He hung up without waiting for a response, just as he always did, knowing his servant would jump at the task with all his hundreds of years of experience. Silently, he picked up Kagome like one would a sleeping child and walked back to his car, feeling her fragile form with a clarity like never before, not even when they were one. She looked up at him from her cradle in his arms and he felt as fragile inside as she looked.

"Who could have done this, Inuyasha?" she whispered. "How could anyone be so terrible?"

He sighed. "Don't think that this is your fault, Kagome. If anything, it's mine. Your mother and I had a misunderstanding this morning and I think that this was the result."

Immediately, fire came into her eyes and Kagome came to Kikyo's defense. "Mother would _never_ —"

"Your mother is capable of everything but goodness," he said shortly, growing tired with Kagome's hero worship of such a despicable person. "She's changed. She thought I was in love with Sango and then this conveniently happened."

Her lower lip began to tremble and her mouth turned down at the corners. "But—But we—"

"She'll never know about us," he promised vehemently. "I'll protect the secret. This will never happen to you."

That seemed to be all the girl could take and she said nothing as he placed her in the car and buckled her in. Kagome stayed unresponsive even as he kissed her lips, which he did only to test the waters. Obviously she was not in a mood for such activities and he dejectedly made his way to the driver's side, wondering if Kagome was completely disillusioned with her mother now or if it would take more effort.


	21. Offspring of Your Might

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Song for the chapter: Feral Love by Chelsea Wolfe*
> 
> Note: Surprise, surprise, I've certainly lost a lot of readers after last week's developments. Apparently incest (even unproven incest) is only acceptable when it's two dudes. Anyway, it's just us dedicated perverts now. We are exactly at the half-way mark! Love you guys and thanks for sticking around! =D

Kagome insisted on sleeping alone in her room and Inuyasha listened to her cry herself to sleep, not going in to hold her because he knew she would reject him even though he had nothing to do with the way Sango had ended up. Did she feel guilty that her friend was on the verge of death in the hospital and she was in a warm bed? He didn't know because she didn't feel like taking for once. Time both flew and dragged as he crouched outside her door, vaguely drifting in and out of sleep and his own jumbled thoughts.

What had happened to Kikyo? He shook his head, remembering when he had first seen her at that party all those years ago. She was wearing one of those little black dresses all women had but she made it look exceptional, simple though it was. He had dismissed her as a spoiled little rich girl at first, but she had turned out to be so much more. There was a lot of pain in her heart, pain at being shaped into something she had no desire to be yet had all the qualifications for. They were going to get married and he would have gradually taken on her responsibilities, leaving her to be free and normal, whatever she wanted to be, sacrificing his own wants for her happiness, which was also his own. Anything that had made her happy made him happy.

Sango's attack was most certainly her doing. The conversation they had preceding it could not be mere coincidence. Even after everything, it surprised him that he still reacted to Kikyo's pain. Inuyasha thought himself long immune to her emotions, which she had so rarely allowed him to glimpse. When she had walked out of his life she had made him hate her with a painful, sluggish intensity that he didn't think he was capable of. But now that she had come back, he found he hated her still, yet with none of that sick longing that used to accompany it. And then there was Kagome. He hated Kikyo because Kagome did not. He hated her because she had left with his child and never bothered to let him know. Sure, she had shown up to his office almost non-stop for a while a couple months after their break-up, but she obviously hadn't tried very hard because look at where they were. She could have just called or written or told Myoga or tried to find his new address. Waiting for over ten years and then guilting him into marrying her was the least efficient way of getting him to spend time with their daughter, although he did spend a lot of time with her, just not in the way Kikyo had probably been expecting.

Thinking of his relationship with Kagome left him feeling vaguely numb and sick, but not in an entirely bad way. It was as though he were just some doll stuffed plump with cotton candy. Light and airy but still solid in a nearly unreal way. He tried not to dwell on it too much, afraid of the small thrills he'd get which were worse than his initial terror and disgust. There was no part of her that wasn't his. None. If Kagome would let him, he'd like to fling their relationship in Kikyo's face, just show her what she had brought about. A small, only barely significant part of him had participated in his affair (sometimes there was just no other word) with Kagome because of how much Kikyo had hurt him. It was a twisted revenge, but he never would have gone beyond dreaming about it had he not genuinely cared for Kagome and felt sure she felt the same. Although sometimes he wondered about what was in it for her. She loved her mother with a fierce devotion, that was obvious, so what was she doing with him? He recalled their past conversations, when she had told him he was the only one who loved her. Was that all it was, all it took? All the unhappiness in her life was because of him. If he had maybe just let Kikyo in one of those times she had showed up at his office, they would have reconciled and he would have been there for Kagome as her father. He would not have let Kikyo be so severe with her and she would not have felt the need to be, not with him there balancing her out and making her more mellow. He would never have begun to love Kagome in the way he did now, a wrong way, even though some people (himself included, once or twice) said love could never be wrong. And she would have never loved him. The thought made his throat burn and he coughed quietly, trying not to wake the sleeping girl separated from him by only one door and loads of conflict.

The rising sun shining angrily in his eyes interrupted his train of thought and he squinted back at it, confused. He had somehow brooded over his relationship troubles the entire night like some kind of teenage girl. Inuyasha sighed. Kagome was rubbing off on him. Figuring it was safe to approach her now that she had cried herself out and Kikyo wasn't home, probably hiding in fear of him figuring out what she had done, he turned the knob of Kagome's bedroom door, trying to be as quiet as he could, grateful that it didn't squeak as so many other doors in the house did.

The sunlight was dimmer in her room and it still looked like it was barely dawn, the blue-gray light nothing more than a glow. She had kicked her covers off sometime during the night and was sprawled on her back, her nightgown hitched up around her thighs. The light turned her skin so pale and Inuyasha couldn't help but to reach out and gently run a finger up one slender limb, following the path of a ghostly vein. Kagome didn't even stir, too worn out from the roller coaster of stress and emotions yesterday. He grabbed her blanket and sheet off the floor, dragging them up over her body and climbing in next to her. Starting out with the barest of butterfly kisses, he pressed his lips to her skin, over and over again, just wanting to touch her. She was so soft, and a little chilly. He put an arm around her and pressed her to his chest, warming her with his body. She awoke slowly, snuggling into him and then realizing by degrees that pillows were not so solid or so warm. Even half-asleep, though, she knew it was him and murmured his name into his collarbone, her chapped lips brushing across his skin and making him shiver. And then full consciousness hit her.

"I-Inuyasha?! What time is it? Am I late? How's Sango? You've heard from the hospital, right? She's okay, right?" Her still sleepy gray eyes were darting around, searching his face, and her voice was scratchy and frantic.

"No word from them yet," he said calmly, which he could tell annoyed her. It wasn't like he had spent every day with Sango like she had, she was just a stranger to him. "It's about seven. Sorry I woke you."

She yawned. "It's okay, I've got to get ready for school, anyway."

He wanted to hit something in his anger but settled for just staring at her in disbelief. "You're kidding me. Please, please don't be serious."

"What? I have a test today."

"I don't give a fuck!" he yelled, surprising her and making her jump in his tightening embrace. "You're not protected. If you really want to go, I'll go with you."

Her eyes narrowed in a glare. "You will do no such thing. We're already around each other every second once I'm out of school, can't you just let me have a few hours to myself?!"

They stared at each other. He broke eye contact first. "So you're sick of me. Is that it?"

Kagome opened her mouth to speak but his cell phone chose that moment to ring. Mumbling a curse, he dug it out of his pocket.

"What?" he spat out, glaring at Kagome who at least had the decency to look mildly repentant.

"Good morning, sir," Myoga said pleasantly.

"The fuck do you want."

"You haven't been to the office in quite some time."

"Tell me something I don't know," he mumbled distractedly, watching Kagome put on her uniform.

"Well, your employees are getting a bit… out of hand."

"How so?" he asked, now slightly interested.

"There are rumors that the business is on the verge of a collapse. That Ms. Higurashi only married you to help it survive a few more years."

Inuyasha laughed at that, not bothering to correct his assistant on Kikyo's new surname and Myoga continued. "Some of our most valuable employees seem to have been swayed by this nonsense and are jumping ship. It would be best if you were to show up at least once a week to boost morale and put their fears to rest. I would suggest coming in today before this whole thing gets out of hand."

He rolled his eyes, hearing his most trusted employee's urgency in his voice. "Deal with it yourself."

Myoga lowered his voice. "Sir, I suspect there might be more to this than meets the eye. Ms. Higurashi's representatives from Shikon said that before there was anything wrong with the company, there were rumors. It started off small. Nobody knew who spread them and nobody could remember where they heard them. They lost a quarter of their workforce within a month. It was as though these people were brainwashed and they thought they had to leave the company or it would mean their death. It was mass hysteria and that only ended when you took over. Now it's starting here."

He suddenly remembered Kikyo and his promise to her. Now that his company was experiencing the same thing in the main office and most likely other ones as well, he'd have a chance to get a better idea of the situation and maybe nip it in the bud. But then again, Kagome needed him, even if she thought she didn't. Inuyasha was in a quandary. He had hurt Kikyo, physically and emotionally. He was hurting her without her even knowing it. If she knew what he did with her—their—daughter, she'd die. All he did was hurt her lately and he had promised to help. It was clear. He had to put his own petty feelings of anger and hatred aside and fight his wife's last battle, the only thing she had ever really asked of him.

"Fine. See you there." He hung up without another word.

Turning to Kagome, who was trying to appear as though she wasn't listening, he said, "I'm gonna have to take you to work with me today."

"Mother would know. She'd figure it out and everything would be over," the girl grumbled, rapidly running a brush through her hair and avoiding eye contact with him in her mirror.

"I have to go to work today and I'm not leaving you alone," he said, trying not to beg. He didn't think anything would actually happen to her, but he'd rather be safe than sorry.

"Just let me go to school, Inuyasha!"

"No! Not after what happened to Sango."

Kagome sighed in exasperation. "There are a lot of people there. Teachers and students. I'll be fine."

"Sango was there under those very same circumstances," he pointed out.

" _Sango_ stayed away from people. _I_ won't. Not today."

Abruptly, she pulled the brush from her hair, wincing when it snagged on a knot. Kagome walked back to the bed where he was now sitting up, pleading with her with his eyes. Her expression softened and she placed a hand on each shoulder, leaning in to give him one of her trademark gentle yet intense kisses.

"I'll be alright," she murmured against his lips, brushing her fingers across the front of his jeans.

His mind was going into that deliciously hazy place her kisses always sent him, but he tried to fight back. "If you got hurt, I'd never forgive myself. I'd never forgive you," he said insistently, giving in to his desire to kiss her again even as he realized he was being manipulated.

"I've got big lungs," she giggled. "I'll scream like crazy for help, and if nobody comes then I'll just start singing or something and eventually they'll run away in pain."

"This is serious," he scolded.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I know. But school is serious, too. You promised you'd let me be whatever I wanted to be, remember?" He nodded, feeling trapped. "Well, how can I be the nurse I want to be if you stop me from getting into a proper college? I've got tests in almost every class today. I can't miss."

Inuyasha touched his forehead to hers and held it there. He knew she didn't need to get into freaking Harvard to be a nurse. People even went to trade schools for that sort of thing. There were ads on the radio for it. A degree in six months or your money back! But this was important to her. "Okay. I'll drop you off and pick you up like usual. Just… be careful, alright?"

"Duh," she said with a smirk, an expression that reminded him so much of himself that he was left dizzy. He didn't even notice she was kissing him until she pulled away and ran down the stairs, smelling like triumph and sunshine.

His doubts about leaving her alone magnified the entire car ride, but now that he had given his word he did not want to break it and risk crushing her growing confidence. Before Kagome could jump out of the car, he grabbed her wrist, gently yanking her back towards him.

"Call me immediately if anyone even looks at you funny."

She rolled her eyes and leaned over, giving him one of her kisses that usually signified things were about to get hot and heavy. When she broke away, he stared at her in a daze, feeling slightly light-headed.

"Not that I mind or anything, but what was that for?"

She smirked and said, "I want you to miss me." She ran off without another look. Inuyasha watched her until he couldn't anymore, then sighed and started on his way to work.

"I already do," he muttered to himself.

**O/\o/\O**

The minute he walked through the door of Tetsusaiga's main office, he knew something was wrong. There were always at least a few people standing there to greet him. Now there was just Myoga. The entire aura of the place felt off, as if it was being pulled apart in a hundred different directions, and it was nearly silent even though he could hear people walking about, doing their daily chores. Where was the usual chatter? The laughter, the noises?

"How long has this been going on?" Inuyasha asked, his voice echoing.

"Around three days," Myoga answered gravely.

"There's a weird smell." He sniffed the air several more times, trying to figure out exactly what it was and where it was coming from. "It's fucking _everywhere_."

"Do you think that could be the source of our problem?"

"Probably. It's the only thing that's changed that I've noticed so far."

Myoga nodded. "I see. Then do you think you are able to find it or should we bring in the dogs?"

Inuyasha glared at him. "Dogs? Really?"

Shoulders slumped, sensing that his boss fully intended to do all the work himself, Myoga sighed, accepting that it would now take much longer to get to the bottom of the strange happenings.

"Alright. Then should I bring in some others, those we can trust? That would surely be more useful than just wandering about by ourselves."

"We're not gonna _wander_ ," Inuyasha scoffed, already starting out down the hall. "I can find where it's coming from."

His long-time servant rushed after him, wishing he hadn't told Inuyasha a thing.

**O/\o/\O**

"We've been walking for hours, Master Inuyasha! Don't you think it's time we took a break? Perhaps stopped for lunch?"

His words went unheeded as Inuyasha stalked the basement corridor. This was a section of the building that was rarely ever used for anything except storage, and then only once every few years. Cursing himself for not checking there first, as it was the ideal place for any funny business, he soldiered on, trying to concentrate on the strange smell which he was convinced was growing stronger. Finally, they came to the end of the hall, where the scent was strongest.

"You got the key to this place?"

Myoga nodded and pulled out a ring that had dozens of keys on it, all for the basement floor. How he knew exactly which one to use without even trying any of the others blew Inuyasha's mind, but then again the man knew the building better than anyone else, being that he'd spent almost every day in it for about eighty years. Turning the key slowly, so as not to make any noise, his hard work was ruined when his boss became impatient and literally kicked the door open, causing it to slam hard against the wall and almost all the way closed again.

The bare, cement room was lit with candles, tons of candles, the shadows they created surrounding a dark, hooded figure that appeared to be saying something quietly in a deep, dark voice, almost chanting, the ominous-sounding words in an unfamiliar tongue.

Inuyasha sniffed. Was that… cinnamon? Vanilla? _Scented_ candles?

"What the fuck is this and who the fuck are you?" he yelled. The hooded figure turned, startled out of his trance that was apparently immune to doors being kicked open loudly but not a voice, and Inuyasha immediately recognized his homely features. "The camera guy! Fucking shit, I knew you were more than just a perv."

Shrieking like a child, the little man in the baggy hoodie took a step forward and nearly tripped, the glass jar he was holding falling from his hands and breaking on the ground. A dark mist escaped from the fragments and formed a cloud. It seemed almost sentient, moving close to Inuyasha, who growled at it and took a swipe with his claws, then to Myoga who cowered by Inuyasha, then finally to the cowering human across the room. It shot over to him and promptly invaded his nose and mouth, disappearing instantly. The strange feeling and smell immediately disappeared. The man sank to his knees and coughed weakly before slumping over completely.

After a decent interval of shocked silence had passed, Inuyasha said, "Is anyone going to tell me what the _fuck_ just happened?"

"It's a poison spell," croaked the man on the ground. "I'm trippin' out, bro. Ah god, man, this wasn't fucking worth it. I can't feel my knees. Those fucking roller skates I bought are useless now. Shit, I hope this wears off by tomorrow."

"No one gives a fuck, nerd," Inuyasha sneered, grabbing him by the collar. "Myoga, turn the goddamn lights on. These candles are giving me a headache."

His servant did as asked and Inuyasha threw the nameless man into the wall, pushing on his shoulder and grinding it into the hard surface until he howled in pain.

"Now tell me what the fuck you were just doing and who told you to do it and why."

"I don't know. But I remember the guy this time," he muttered, his eyes shut tight.

"Get talkin'," Inuyasha said sharply as Myoga began blowing out all the candles.

"The guy showed up at my apartment like an hour after I first, uh, made your acquaintance. He asked if I had my camera, but it was like he already knew I didn't. He asked for his money back. I had already, um, invested it all. When I told him, he broke all the fingers on my right hand." The man held up his hand and showed Inuyasha his cast. "Then he called me a few days later and told me to come here. He kinda looked like a chick. Long black hair in a braid, tan skin, pretty mouth. Had a tattoo on his face, right on his fucking forehead. It was a purple cross. Fucker's hardcore, dude."

Myoga, already out of breath from blowing out nearly a third of the candles, gasped. "That is none other than Bankotsu!"

"And who the fuck is that?" Inuyasha asked exasperatedly, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible if only so he could stop touching the guy.

"The leader of a group of sadistic, evil men who work for Onigumo. They act as guards publicly, but their true purpose is to carry out his dirty work, including bribery and murder."

"O-Onigumo?" Inuyasha was stunned.

"Heavy on the murder."

"Hitmen? After Kagome? What the fuck does that bastard want with her?!" he yelled, shaking the limp man while directing his question toward Myoga.

"It's well-known that he still bears a humongous grudge against Kikyo for rejecting him. He has an insane obsession with destroying her. That must have only amplified after the two of you reunited and then extended to both you and her daughter. We cannot prove it yet, but he has hinted to various sources that he was the one behind the near-destruction of Shikon. He backed off because of Tetsusaiga, but now he's back at it. We thwarted his attempt at sabotage before it got too bad, thank goodness."

Inuyasha nodded, then turned back to the man who appeared to be almost asleep, his eyes crossing and uncrossing. "You. Why and how did you put those pictures and dog hearts in Kagome's room?"

"What the fu— I mean, uh, what are you talking about?" the exhausted man said, apparently trying to correct his behavior into a more acceptable form since his life was in a very irate man's claws.

"You weren't the one who trashed Kagome's room?" Inuyasha asked.

"I didn't do shit, man, I don't know where you fucking live. I just followed you that one time and you caught me and I've been here for a couple days with nothing but that creepy fucking jar and bottled water and lunchables to eat and I had to pee in the goddamn empty bottles and you caught me _again_."

Inuyasha leaned in and looked the man in the eyes, trying to intimidate him and succeeding. The man rambled on.

"Fuck, dude, I don't wanna be involved in you crazy bastards' business anymore. I've got a fucking cat to take care of, I can't do this shit. Let me go, you sick fuck!" the man yelled, becoming more agitated with each word he spoke. He began to thrash about, but it was no use.

Inuyasha barked out a short, humorless laugh. " _I'm_ the sick fuck?! You're the one stalking a teenage girl."

The man stopped struggling and glared at him. "At least I'm not fucking her, you fucking pervert!"

He grabbed the small man by the throat. "Give me your phone, the one you used to contact Bankotsu. Do it and I'll let you live." He sunk a claw into his neck, enough to draw a fat drop of dirty blood.

"Whatever, man. It's in my right pocket. We're cool, right? Right?" he laughed uneasily, shutting his eyes again. Inuyasha could smell the tears he was holding back. He didn't let go, afraid that if he moved he really would take the man's life. The smell of him, of whatever that black cloud was, was infecting his mind and making his head ache. Everything about this man irritated him. Oblivious to all this, the man continued.

"Sorry for what I said about you being a pervert," the man tittered nervously. "She's pretty hot. Sure, she might be a teenager, but that body ain't fifteen. And it's not like you're her real fath—"

Inuyasha twisted his neck and broke it with one hand while the other reached into the man's pocket and relieved him of his cellphone. Blood spurted from the man's nose and dripped onto his hand, its path slowed by the thick mucus it was coupled with. Inuyasha wiped it on the man's hoodie in disgust then dropped his body on the floor.

Tossing the phone to Myoga, he said, "Check all the numbers in there and get rid of the body. Call me if anything new or significant happens."

"Yes, sir. But…"

"What?" Inuyasha growled. He didn't have time for this.

"Are you any of the things he said?" the flea demon blurted out.

He smirked. "You mean am I fucking my wife's daughter who may or may not also be mine?" Myoga nodded hesitantly, glancing at the body lying crumpled against the wall. "Fuck off," he said with a sneer, walking out the door.

The sky was gray and it was pouring, although the sun was managing to shine through here and there. Inuyasha smiled, thinking of Kagome's eyes.

"Fuck," he cursed to himself, fumbling for his phone. It was five. He was two hours late to pick her up. He'd never been this late before. Hell, he'd never been late. She was his number one priority. He ran to his car and sped away from the building, arriving at the very congested freeway. The rain had caused several accidents. He hit his head against the steering wheel in punishment, hoping she had the sense to stay in the library and wait. After an hour of jockeying with other cars, screaming at other drivers with a level of road rage he had never experienced before in his life, even denting the bumper of his car on another and speeding off without a word before he finally arrived at Kagome's school. Her deserted school.

He ran, the rain splashing his face and getting in his nose, his eyes. Apologizing to Kagome in his head, he darted into the separate building that was the high school library. Literally into it. He had not expected the doors to be locked, but they were. Rubbing his hurt nose angrily, he ran back to the front of the school, panicking when he couldn't pick up her scent. He checked all the doors of the school, even the gym. Every single one was locked.

Kagome was nowhere to be found.


	22. Do It Again

***Song for the chapter: Mexico by The Staves***

The rain had taken Kagome's scent away with it, eliminating his primary means of finding her. Where was she? Inuyasha knew he should calm down, but he had called her cell a billion times and she hadn't answered and he was convinced that meant she was kidnapped, by Bankotsu or another one of Onigumo's henchmen. It was all he could do to take deep, even breaths. He had never had a panic attack before, but he somehow knew he was on the verge of one.

A shuffling alerted him to the presence of another, and before he even saw who it was, he slammed them face-first against the building's wall. "Where the fuck is Kagome?!" he asked dangerously, his voice low and filled with frantic rage.

The man he had pinned was wearing coveralls identical to those of the janitor he had killed what felt like forever ago. He was short and overweight and carrying a rake which he did not even attempt to use to defend himself. Inuyasha sniffed in disgust. Normally, he would have killed the guy, but he was already pushing his luck and natural selection would probably take care of him sooner or later.

"I-I-I d-don't know who that is! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just let me go!" the man wailed in fear. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at the high-pitched voice.

"A girl. Long black hair. Pale skin. Gray eyes. She's a student." She sounded so plain when he described her like that. As he had frequently throughout his life, he wished for the gift of words, even though none could do her justice. They couldn't illustrate the image he had of her in his mind, that time he had kissed her under the tree, the delicate, girlish shock that had only made him want her more. Her scent that was now a part of his life, invading his dreams and every waking thought. The feelings she inspired in him without even doing anything.

"Oh gosh, I think maybe, uh, maybe I saw her a couple hours ago. She was with some brown-haired kid and then they got into a fight and everybody was looking at them and I guess she got embarrassed and left. I'm not sure if that was the girl you're looking for, though. Just _please_ let me go!"

Inuyasha wasn't sure whether he was relieved that someone had seen her or even more frantic now that he knew for certain she was gone and they weren't just playing some crazy game of hide and seek. "Did you see where she went? Can you remember?!"

"Fuck, I can't remember anything like this!" the man said in his high, strained voice. He was sweating and Inuyasha rolled his eyes and threw him to the ground, the man never once seeing his face. He cursed aloud the entire way back to the car, praying to someone, something, that his gut would lead him to her. That the connection they had through their love and blood would bring her to him. As he sat down in the driver's seat, he leaned his head back, trying to clear his mind. If he were Kagome, what would he do? Ask a friend for a ride home? Yeah, that seemed reasonable. He hoped the real Kagome was as reasonable as that.

Inuyasha stumbled through his front door minutes later, her scent hitting him immediately and wrapping around him, relaxing him. Once the fear he had stored in every bone was gone, he began to get angry. Just because he was a little (or a lot) late didn't mean she should have just run off without telling him, making him worry and rush around like a madman, nearly killing another fucking janitor just because she didn't wait in the fucking library like anybody else would have fucking done. He stomped up the stairs as loud as he could, putting his anger into each step, following her scent to his room.

"Kagome, why the _fuck_ weren't you—"

The lights were off and there was a lump that could only be Kagome swaddled in blankets on his bed. Something about the scene made him feel a sense of dread and all the anger disappeared in only a moment. He approached the bed, suddenly feeling very small.

"K-Kagome? Angel?"

"Inuyasha?" came a faint voice from the cocoon of blankets. Kagome's little face burrowed out just barely and he noticed she was paler than ever and soaked through.

"Why are you all wet, baby?" he asked, feeling almost maternal. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge.

"I-it was raining," she said, her chattering teeth making it difficult for her to elaborate. Now that he was closer he could see that the entire bundle of blankets was shivering with her.

"Did you _walk_ all the way here?" he asked, dumbfounded. They lived ten miles from her high school, the last three or so being on unpaved road.

Kagome covered her face back up with the blankets, more to hide from his interrogation than for warmth.

"Answer me," he commanded sternly.

"Y-yes. I'm sorry." Her fingers were visible where they gripped the blankets to herself and he saw that there was a purplish tint to the digits.

"Don't be sorry, angel. Christ, you're cold."

"Then warm m-me." Throwing the blanket off herself, Inuyasha was able to see her state more clearly. She still wore her soaked skimpy school uniform, and the white shirt was see-through and sticking to her skin in ways that wouldn't be half bad if the situation were not so serious. She was still shivering and her skin was almost translucent-looking. Kagome placed a small hand on his large, clawed one and he felt just how freezing cold she actually was. "I n-need you to warm me up. Only you."

"Kagome," he whispered, feeling sad and scared and strangely helpless. She was just so, so cold. He knew she was going to be sick. Placing a hand on her forehead, he felt her lack of warmth again. "No. you need a hot bath, a change of clothes, some tea, and maybe even more blankets. I'll hold you until you fall asleep and then I'll call Myoga for some meds."

"No, I need you!" she whined childishly. "Are you not touching me because you're mad?" she whispered, sounding ten years younger.

"I'm not mad at you, I'm just worried," he explained gently.

"But you were yelling!" she cried, tears beginning to streak down her face.

"I-I-I—" he stuttered, beginning to panic. "Don't cry, please don't cry. I just want you to be well."

"Then touch me," she commanded, grabbing his hand and placing it on her breast. Inuyasha's palm and fingers squeezed automatically and she moaned, her already stiff nipple hardening even more and poking the flesh somewhere along his lifeline. "Please? I know what my body needs. I need you to make me better, only you. You're all I need." Kagome brought their clasped hands up and kissed each one of his fingers, her cold lips trembling as she did so. "Share your warmth with me, Inuyasha. Burn me."

Inuyasha could not deny her, not when she was like this, when she begged and needed him this much. And, truth be told, he needed her as well. The shock from not seeing her immediately, the worry and panic and guilt, had worked themselves into a frenzy of feeling inside him and he needed her in order to calm down. He resolved to have this short interlude with her to give them what they both wanted and then he'd care for her. Drawing her into a gentle kiss, he flicked his tongue against her lips to warm them. Her tongue darted out to meet his and he shuddered; even that was cold. His poor girl. Kagome still trembled in his arms, from both cold and exhaustion. He was amazed she wanted him at all.

He broke away from her and pulled off her soaking wet clothes, tossing them to the side where they fell to the floor with a loud splat, and just looked at her. They were both kneeling on the bed across from each other and she seemed to shiver harder the longer he stared. He could see the purple veins beneath her pale skin running all along her delicate body. Removing his own clothes quickly, he embraced her, pressing her to him hard so she could absorb his body heat all the faster. Kagome murmured a protest and tried to push away from him, wanting more than just an intense hug. He shushed her, but she started licking along his jugular with little flicks of her tongue. Now he was trembling as well, and not from the cold. She knew him too well. With quick movements, he rubbed his hands along her arms and legs, trying to use friction to warm her up beyond corpse temperature. Reaching out a hand, she began to touch him as well, much more sensually than he was doing, trailing her fingers along his ribcage and making him shudder. Inuyasha grabbed her hands and rubbed them between his own until they were a light pink. Satisfied that she was recovering, he put his arms around her and kissed his way down her body, lowering her to the bed and straightening her legs out for her.

He played with her already stiff nipples, tweaking and rubbing them, careful not to be too rough. Kneading and caressing, he warmed her breasts with his large hands. Soon she was trembling more from his tender ministrations than any cold she might still feel. Slowly, he lowered himself down to her and licked at a nipple skillfully, keeping a hand on her other breast. He sucked gently and plucked at it with his lips, breathing a hot puff of air on it before switching to the other one and repeating his actions. She squirmed beneath him and mewled like a kitten, her short nails running along his scalp and down through his wild mane of hair.

"Enough, Inuyasha," she groaned. "I've never ached like this. Please just do it now."

As commanded, he plunged into her and she grunted, a sound he could not remember hearing her make before, then thrust back against him, biting her lip and clawing at his back. Inuyasha was surprised by her wild eagerness and sped up, ravishing her as she seemed to want. Kagome came with a scream, remembering his sensitive ears at the last moment and putting her hands over them. Following her, he emptied himself then pulled out of her, rolling to the side and bringing her with him, placing her head on his chest in what had become their traditional position. Inuyasha pulled the blankets over the both of them, relieved that she was at a normal temperature now and that her hair was nearly dry.

"You really aren't mad?"

"How could I be mad after that?" he teased.

"Why didn't you come for me?"

The dreaded question. He had almost forgotten. "I lost track of time," he sighed. "I called you a ton of times, you know. Fuck, why didn't you just wait for me?" Some of his earlier anger had returned and he felt like spanking her like he used to do.

"I left my phone at home. I waited and waited but you didn't show up. I thought you forgot about me," she whispered. He could feel her eyelashes flutter against his chest and knew she was blinking back tears.

"Don't be stupid, I could never forget about you," he said, kissing her still damp hair and vowing to actually start wearing a watch.

"I wouldn't have left, but Hojo came and started talking to me. He gave me another present and even though I didn't want to hurt his feelings, I refused it. He asked me out and I told him not to talk to me again, like you said. He got mad and started yelling at me, saying I led him on and used him. Everyone who was still at school was staring at us and I just ran away. I didn't stop until I was half-way home, and then when I realized, I just kept going."

He growled. So it was that idiot kid's fault that Kagome had walked all that way in the rain. That bastard would pay for her every step.

Sensing his mood, Kagome kissed his chest. "Don't be mad at him, Inuyasha, it's all true. I used him for free tutoring and to make you jealous."

He smiled. "Well, it worked. I suppose I should actually thank him. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have done this until much, much later."

She giggled and kissed his chest again, eyes sparkling. "Good night, Inuyasha."

"Aw, come on! It's only seven. The night is young and so are we. Well, you." He stroked her hair and she giggled again before clutching the blankets closer to her and burrowing into him. Kagome went to sleep almost immediately and Inuyasha followed, lulled by her scent and the beat of her pure heart.


	23. A Glacier Moving Through You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Song for the chapter: Glacier by John Grant*
> 
> Author's Note: I freaking hate it when people write modern day fics and have Kaede say "ye". Stop doing that, please, it's incredibly cringe-worthy. Also, like nine times out of ten, they don't use the word properly and then I want to just scream.

Inuyasha woke up hours later, feeling an unbearable warmth covering him. _Kagome_. He opened his eyes to see that she was still on top of him and burning up. Gently, he rolled her to the side onto her back. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was damp again but this time with sweat instead of rain water. There was a light furrow in her brow and her breath came in irregular little puffs. He began to panic and pat the side of her face several times in quick succession.

"Kagome, wake up! Wake up, come on!"

She moaned and turned her head so that her cheek rested on the pillow. "I don't feel good. I'm so cold."

Pressing his lips to her forehead to check her temperature, just as his mother used to do for him so long ago, he felt just how burning hot she actually was and became even more frantic. Kagome began to shiver again and grabbed for the blankets, wrapping them around herself, cocooned as she had been earlier.

"I'm gonna take you to the hospital," he said, mostly to himself.

He was surprised when she answered. "No! I need to stay here." Her voice was strained and she sounded as though she were about to cry. He was at a loss as to what to do.

"Kagome, I'm going to call my doctor for you then, alright? Okay?" he said in a loud voice, not wanting to succumb to the feeling of helplessness and do something terrible. This was starting to bring back terrible memories and he felt time looming over them like an evil god. His doctor only treated people of demonic descent, but that didn't occur to him at the moment.

"No," Kagome whined. "I want Kaede. Call Kaede."

Remembering that Kikyo had mentioned a Kaede a while ago, he grabbed for his discarded pants, fetching his cell phone to call Myoga, who picked up on the first ring. "Quick! I need you to call a doctor named Kaede. Tell her Kagome Higurashi is deathly ill and won't let anyone else treat her." He ended the call, not even bothering to wonder how Myoga would do as he asked with so little information. The flea demon always came through with what he wanted somehow, some way.

Inuyasha knelt with one knee on the bed and leaned over the cocooned girl, trying to pry the blankets off so he could dress her. She wouldn't give and he didn't want to hurt her or make her uneasy. She clutched the blankets tighter, muttering something about Christmas and being cold.

"Where is Mother? I need Mother."

The words sent an arrow through his heart, partially because she was basically saying his presence was not good enough and partially because Kikyo was never there when her daughter needed her. He felt tears prick his eyes and he fought them back.

"Shhh, I'm here, I love you, it's alright," he murmured, cradling her in his arms the best he could in her bundled state. "I need to take the blankets off so you can get dressed, okay? You don't want the doctor to see you nude."

"No, I need Mother!" she said, her dry throat making it come out like a croak.

Inuyasha could smell her tears and he heard her make a small whining sound. He held her cocoon tighter and tried to keep her still, her shaking having increased as soon as she asked for her mother. She cried like a child in his arms and he reached and pulled the blankets from her face, stroking her cheek and kissing her forehead again, his panic increasing when she was much hotter than before.

The doorbell rang and he jumped to his feet. "Finally," he muttered, although it had been less than half an hour since he had called Myoga. "I'll be right back, baby girl. Kaede will make you better," he said loudly, hating how his voice sounded like he was just talking to himself.

He took the stairs two at a time, his heart beating wildly in fear. Yanking open the front door, he was about to yell at the doctor for taking so long but stopped, her appearance confusing him. He had expected the doctor Kikyo had picked for Kagome to be someone more like Kikyo, professional, sleek, and commanding, but instead he was faced with a short, stocky elderly woman wearing an eye patch. Her long hair was almost as silver as his own, but lacked the healthy glow his possessed. Was he really going to let an old crone with one working eye treat Kagome?

Inuyasha was brought out of his brief musings by the disapproving look on the doctor's face. Her one eye pointedly looked him up and down and obviously did not like what it saw. He looked down at himself and scowled, cursing his stupidity, seeing that he forgot to put something on other than his boxers. This was gonna be a rough night.

Clearing his throat, he searched for his most polite voice. "Please, come in—"

She barged right in, not bothering with pleasantries, just ignoring him. "Where is Kagome?"

"U-upstairs," he stuttered, shocked by her energy.

Kaede was already stomping her way up the stairs and he hurried, going up ahead of her to show her the way. Kagome was still cocooned and on her back, her panting breaths louder.

"Inuyasha, where did you go?" she asked tremulously.

He rushed to her side. "I brought Doctor Kaede to you. Don't worry, you'll feel all better soon." Her big eyes were glazed yet brimming with trust and love, and he couldn't resist caressing the side of her face with his trembling fingers.

A dry, obviously forced cough came from the other side of the room and he glared at Kaede. Her eye was moving about the room, taking everything in. It lingered on the wet pile of Kagome's clothes still on the floor by the bed. Inuyasha tried to see the scene as she did and flinched. It was obviously a man's room, his room, his bed. Kagome was naked, he was in his boxers, Kikyo was nowhere to be seen. Everything was obvious. The stout woman glared at him and he knew she would kill him if she could. He refused to feel bad and stayed by Kagome, knowing that on some level she took comfort from his nearness.

"I would prefer to examine the patient alone," Kaede said, her voice brimming with hostility.

"No," he returned firmly. He would not leave her, never. A tense moment passed where they did nothing but glare at one another.

"Fine. Kagome," she said, her voice suddenly tender, "what happened, dear? Why are you sick?"

"K-Kaede? What're you doing here?" she mumbled. Inuyasha stroked her hair, ignoring the glare Kaede sent his way.

"I'm here to see what's wrong and give you some medicine. Your _stepfather_ ," she emphasized, "called me all the way here in the middle of the night just to make you better."

Inuyasha tensed, resenting the way the doctor spoke to Kagome as though she was just a child.

"Inuyasha is so good. He does everything for me," she said softly, a small smile on her face. He smiled back at her even though her eyes were now closed and she could not see him. Kaede glanced at him, a questioning frown on her face, and he gave her his best glare, willing her to hurry the hell up.

"I see. Open your mouth, Kagome. Let me take your temperature." The girl obeyed and they waited a bit until the thermometer beeped. "101.6! How did this happen?" she asked, her voice full of concern, repeating her earlier question.

Kagome struggled to open her eyes and finally succeeded, only just barely. "I was out in the rain."

"And where is Kikyo? Where is your mother?"

"Mother," Kagome whispered, her face scrunching up as though she was about to cry again. "Mother is never around."

"That explains a lot," Kaede muttered.

"Just do your job, Captain Wrinklebeard," Inuyasha growled.

Kaede ignored him. "I'm going to take your blankets off and listen to your heartbeat, alright, dear?" she said gently. Kagome allowed her to unwrap her, and the woman paused when she saw the girl's nudity, gasping when she noticed the dried semen between her thighs. She took out her stethoscope with shaking hands. "I-I'm going to need you to sit up, Kagome."

Kagome complied, her hand seeking out Inuyasha for help, which he gave by pulling her up most of the way and steadying her. Kaede placed the stethoscope on her back, pulling it away when Kagome jerked. "Stop it, it's too cold!"

Inuyasha sat down across from Kagome and pulled her into his lap, soothing her with a kiss to the brow. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder, their naked chests pressed together. He could feel Kaede's shock, perhaps not at the situation, which she had already figured out, but at the fact they were behaving in such a way in front of her. _It's over_ , he thought, his heart mourning their separation before it even began. But he couldn't pretend to be normal when Kagome was like this.

Quickly recovering, Kaede again pressed the cold metal device to Kagome's back, this time receiving no complaints. She told the girl to take a deep breath, which she did, and then repeated the process several times at different points on her back. Kagome shivered in his arms and he kissed her forehead again, rubbing his thumb across the nape of her neck. Finally, Kaede finished and put the stethoscope back in her bag. Inuyasha felt Kagome immediately relax and begin to doze in his arms.

"Here," the doctor said roughly, tossing a cardboard box at him. "Have her take these, follow the directions on the box. Keep her well hydrated and have her refrain from, er, physical activities."

He looked at the box in his hand. Children's Tylenol meltaways in bubblegum burst flavor. "That's it? Just some fuckin' Tylenol?"

Kaede rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mr. Taisho. These illnesses are common occurrences in childhood."

"She is not a child," he said sharply. "Stop treating her like one."

Her glare returned with much more force. "She _is_ still very much a child, sir, more so than other girls her age, in spite or perhaps because of her mother's treatment of her."

"You know how Kikyo's been treating her?! And you never fucking did anything about it?" Kagome murmured his name and he quieted, shifting her in his arms and embracing her more securely.

"What could I have done? Taken her from the mother she adores and placed her in a foster home? You and I both know she would not survive in such a place. But looking at you now I'm starting to think I should have."

"I love her," he hissed, wondering why he was even having this conversation.

"Love?" Kaede laughed. "She was wandering out in the rain for what seems like hours and as soon as you see her you force yourself on her. Is that _love_?"

"You don't know what happened, you don't know how we are. I would _never_ harm her. She needs me and I need her!"

Kaede's shoulders slumped and she sighed, her energy momentarily disappearing and leaving her nothing but a sad-looking, worn out old woman. "I can see that. Don't worry, no one will know of this. Although the way you two interact makes me wonder if you were even trying to hide it. Kikyo must be blind. But, as you said, Kagome does need you. Take care not to hurt her, half-demon, or I will hunt you down and make it so they will never find the body," she said calmly, letting her spiritual powers swell until they brushed against him, giving him a light shock. He had no doubt that she would be true to her word.

"Whatever," he huffed, trying to play it cool. "I'll mail you your payment."

"No need. Kagome is like my own granddaughter, I appreciate being in her life."

"I guess you can see yourself out, then," he said impatiently, wanting to be alone with Kagome so he could take care of her properly.

"Such a rude boy," she muttered, shuffling out of the room. "A girl like her deserves better."

Inuyasha waited until he heard the front door shut and then opened the box of chewable Tylenol tablets, carefully rearranging Kagome so that she lay straight on the bed, her hair fanned out on the pillow in waves with little ringlets here and there. Stopping a moment just to stare at her, his heart swelled with love, beating strong in his chest. She was so beautiful, the light pink of the fever on her cheeks enhancing her delicate features and contrasting prettily with her pale skin and dark hair. Her lips were parted slightly, her breathing sounding like the softest sighs, something only he could hear. Gently, he caressed her cheekbone with his knuckles and she opened her eyes. He wordlessly handed her one of the tablets and the bottle of water he always kept by his bed, sure she would want to wash what must be a terrible taste out of her mouth. She chewed the pill, grimacing all the while, and immediately drifted off again after guzzling half the bottle.

He lay on his side next to her, watching the way her eyelids twitched the slightest bit. So, this illness was normal in humans. It was no longer something to be feared. A distant memory came to him, of his mother shivering in a maid's arms, sweating until the bed was visibly damp and then going completely still. He pushed the scene away, resolving to stay in the here and now. Kagome made it easier when she rolled over and embraced him in her sleep, her face pressed against his chest just like he arranged her every night. Already, he could feel her temperature dropping. He chuckled at his earlier panic. He had acted just like a new parent. The thought wiped the smile off his face and he brought the blankets back over the two of them, wanting to both hold Kagome in his arms the way he always did and run far away until his mind ceased its torture of his soul. He was hers and she was his. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't change that.


	24. The Heart Wants What it Wants

***Song for the Chapter: Possum Kingdom by The Toadies***

Kagome's fever had abated completely by the time the sun decided to shine through the window, waking her and ending his silent perusal of her face. They stared at each other without speaking, him in relief and Kagome in he knew not what. Feeling somehow awkward, he smoothed her hair away from where it had fallen across her cheek and kissed where his fingers had touched.

"I'm going to call and tell Kikyo about Kaede's visit, then I'm going to call your school so I can keep you here until you're better."

She blinked and he took that as a response. Dialing her number he had on a scrap of paper since he hadn't yet put it in his phone, he waited for Kikyo to pick up, which she did right before it would have gone to voicemail.

"Inuyasha!" she said pleasantly, sounding surprised.

"Hey," he said with distraction. "Just calling to say that Kagome had a fever and we called Kaede over to treat her. Thought you should know. She has a cold, too." He had made that last assessment on his own. She had been sniffling during her sleep, cuddling up to him and sounding so pitiful that he did not rest at all.

"What?!" Kikyo said, getting as close to a shriek as he had ever heard her. Inuyasha felt his heart flutter, wondering if she was beginning to show concern for her child. "That is absolutely unacceptable. I cannot return to a place that has such a contagious illness present. In my condition, that would be all it took to finally kill me!" She was taking great, heaving breaths and he was concerned that she was on the verge of an anxiety attack.

"It's okay, Kikyo, it's nothing to worry about." She had cancer, not whatever that bubble boy thing was. The air Kagome breathed wasn't going to destroy her. He rolled his eyes at her.

His wife cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "You are right. However, I will not be able to return until she is healthy again and the house has been professionally cleaned. In the meantime, keep her quarantined in her room to avoid spreading the germs."

"I understand," he murmured gently, trying to hide his giddiness.

"Make sure she is taken care of and does not neglect her archery practice, even if she feels as though she is straining herself. It is a necessary skill for her to have as a Higurashi."

"Why don't you just tell her that yourself?" he said, his temper slipping through. Kagome hadn't even touched a bow since she had moved in, something he had suggested and encouraged.

"I think you're more than capable of the task, Inuyasha." He heard a voice in the background and Kikyo sighed. "That was Walker, I've got to go. Don't let her keep you from finding out about Onigumo and what happened to Shikon. Until I've had my revenge, I cannot rest."

Kikyo ended the call and he rolled his eyes at her dramatic goodbye. There were no longer any problems with Shikon now that he owned it, and he had stopped the mischief at Tetsusaiga, even recovering most of his employees who had fled in fits of irrational fear. What did it matter anymore? He wanted to help Kikyo, he really did, but she seemed too hung up on things that were no longer of any concern. Would she only be happy if he brought her Onigumo's head on a platter? The thought appealed to him and he chuckled, absent-mindedly calling Kagome's school and explaining the reason for her absence, hinting that she might be out for a few more days. When that was taken care of, he exhaled exaggeratedly and flopped down on the bed, carelessly tossing his phone on the floor. Kagome had felt a bit warm when he had touched her skin, but it wasn't too bad, almost normal even.

"What do you want to do, angel?" he asked, knowing she was awake even though her eyes were closed. They popped open, greeting him with that clear gray he loved.

"What _is_ there to do?" she asked innocently. Smirking, he reached a hand beneath the covers and ran it up her bare thigh. "Not that!" she laughed, squirming away from him.

"We can do anything you want. It's your day."

"Hmmm…" she said, deep in thought. "Well, I've always kind of wanted to build a pillow fort."

"That's it?" he asked, surprised she wanted something so simple.

"Yep!" she nodded happily, rising but keeping the blanket to her chest. "Then we can order pizza and I'll bake brownies so we can have brownie sundaes and we can have a movie marathon!"

Inuyasha snorted. "You want to have a sleepover?"

"Please? I've never been to one and they look so fun," she pleaded.

Recalling her lack of friends growing up, he nodded and leaned in for a kiss, hoping he wouldn't feel too emasculated by the time she felt like going back to school. If she asked to braid his hair, that would be the end of it, he decided. He could maybe handle a few girly movies, but actually engaging in the traditional slumber party activities would make him nauseous. Unless she wanted to "experiment", then he was all up for that. He grinned into the kiss and she lightly smacked his arm, as if knowing just what he was thinking.

"Whatever you want, just go easy on me," he said laughingly, breaking away from her lips.

**O/\o/\O**

Kagome built the fort without any help from Inuyasha, discovering early on that his claws and impatience would cost them several pillows and sheets and blankets if she let him continue. So instead, he ordered pizza and took out all the ingredients for brownies like she requested, keeping an eye on her to make sure she wasn't overworking herself. She was blasting some annoying pop music and bouncing around happily, making sure their fort was stable and secure, flashing him a grin every so often as if to tell him to stop watching her like a creep and buzz off.

When she finished constructing the lop-sided fort, they switched places, with her going into the kitchen to make the brownies which would eventually be placed into sundaes and him attempting to inconspicuously improve her rather sad-looking piece of architecture. The doorbell rang just as he finally got the stack of pillows that served as a column to stand straight and he jogged over to it, throwing some bills at the delivery boy and slamming the door. Inuyasha always wondered how the delivery guys managed to get to his house every time, what with him living in a pretty secluded place with no lights. Even though he gave directions to every place the first time he ordered from there, it still never ceased to surprise him when they actually showed up. Chuckling to himself, he wondered just how many kids had thought this to be their last job, since obviously only psychopaths who wear suits made out of people lived this far from another person in what was normally a densely populated area.

"PIZZA!" Kagome bellowed, leaping over to him and wrenching the boxes away, giving him a distracted kiss on the cheek before hurrying over to the pillow fort in front of the TV.

Rolling his eyes, he followed after her, gazing longingly at the brownies cooling on the counter and then determinedly opening the box of pizza Kagome wasn't already digging into and settling next to her in the fort. She already had the television turned to a movie, and he noted disinterestedly that it was the beginning of Big. He remembered seeing it when it came out and even then he hadn't been fond of it. He thought the entire idea was just ridiculous. Who would ever want to be _older_? He snorted. As soon as humans reach adulthood, they want to go back to being children. Inuyasha was quite satisfied with his own aging. He would never look older than he was now and he would never want to. Some demons changed their appearances to that of elderly versions of themselves. He had always thought they were kind of crazy. The only way to survive in the world was to be young, but not too young. Smirking to himself with a definite, comfortable feeling of superiority, he leaned back and put an arm around Kagome, his other hand fishing around in the box for another slice.

"I feel like I'm living my own version of this movie," Kagome whispered, most of her concentration still on the screen.

"How so?"

Taking a deep breath, she explained, "Before you, I was just another girl. I know I was more, well, naïve than most people my age and that made everyone think I was even younger. But then my wish came true and my childhood is over and now I'm living this awesome adult life with you," she finished in a rush.

"I'm your Zoltar?" he laughed, drawing her in for a chaste kiss, if anything between the two of them could be called chaste. "Just promise me you won't take back your wish."

Kagome's smile was more of a baring of her teeth than a reflection of happiness. "There's no magic in my movie. I can never go back."

The mood was suddenly somber and he felt agitated, not knowing what had happened to change it. He stared at Tom Hanks as he jumped across the ground keyboard like an idiot, waiting for Kagome to say something. Just as he was about to crack and ask her what exactly she meant by that comment, she broke the silence.

"I'm going back to school tomorrow."

He whipped his head to the side to look at her. "No, you're still sick. You can go back the day after."

She wasn't really sick and he knew that. She had healed remarkably fast, and when he thought about it, he came to the conclusion that somehow the demon blood of his that he could neither sense nor smell in her had been what had healed her. Instead of disgust or self-hatred, he now felt nothing but pride. Pride in her for being so good and perfect, pride in himself for having contributed to her existence, and even a little pride in Kikyo.

Kagome shook her head quickly, successfully blinking back tears. She'd been having a lot of practice at controlling her crying ever since she had come to live with him. The thought made his heart ache.

"No," she said firmly. "If I have one more day like this, I'll want what I can't have even more and it will tear me apart."

"You have me," he said in a strained voice. Inuyasha reached out his hand and tried to touch her but she jerked away, scooting the short distance to the other side of the fort.

Drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, she sighed. "I think we need to face reality, just for a moment. You are married to my mother, someone you used to be madly in love with. I'm a millennial and you are over half a millennium old. You are a half-demon and I have what seems to be super demon killing powers which for some reason didn't work on you, but that doesn't mean they won't. Even if Mother… If Mother _dies_ ," she choked out, "the odds are against us. And being together, even after all that, it still won't be right. I'm your step-daughter. People will talk. Your business would fail at worst, suffer a significant loss at best." She took another deep breath and turned her watery eyes to him, for once letting him see just how much she was suffering. "I love you. I _love_ you. I want to be with you, but I don't want us to end up hating each other because of circumstances we could have seen coming. Where does that leave us? A fling. A taboo fling. Always unfulfilled, always wanting."

Gaining back his ability to speak, something her words had taken away, he rose to his knees, hitting the top of the pillow fort and making half of it collapse. "No!" he yelled, desperate, his heart beating faster than he could ever remember. "That's not going to happen to us. What I feel for you cannot be ignored or forgotten. Believe me, I've tried. Not very hard, but I did try. There's a way."

She shook her head, her tears falling freely. "No, Inuyasha, no. There's nothing. We need to face facts."

Inuyasha grabbed her by the shoulders and shook as hard as he dared. "There fucking _is_ ," he hissed, angry that she was so determined to end everything, her lack of faith in him the most emasculating thing he had ever experienced. "We will become two halves of one whole. I will mark you."

He was breathing hard and she was staring up at him, her eyes wide, obviously shocked by his declaration. He had been planning on marking her ever since he realized the depth of his love for her, around the time he had killed the janitor. A mark was forever and would prove his devotion and, more importantly, prevent her from ever really leaving him. He started to become nervous when she didn't respond and just continued to stare at him as though waiting for him to continue. He glared at her, his eyes asking _what more do you fucking want_?

"Uh, you'll what me?" she asked in a confused whisper.

Stunned, he released her shoulders and sat back on the balls of his feet. "You don't know what a demon's mark is?" he asked incredulously.

Kagome shook her head and he sighed, once again both cursing and blessing Kikyo for keeping her so sheltered. He could explain mating to her without having to deal with whatever pop culture was currently saying about it. All humans were obsessed with mating marks, not understanding anything beyond that it made one young forever. There were magazine articles in Cosmo and Seventeen, tips on how to get a demon to make you his own. People sold potions to make one "irresistible" to demons, which never worked for the intended purpose, usually getting the idiot eaten by some minor being that barely qualified as demonic. Humans all longed to preserve their youth and had since the dawn of their existence, and a demon's mating mark was the only way they could. And here was Kagome, accomplishing what nearly the entirety of her race desired, and she didn't even know what it was.

"It binds us," he explained. "Our souls. I give you part of mine and you give me part of yours. We will always be able to vaguely experience one another's emotions. You will also share my lifespan, unless I die before my predetermined time, in which case you will revert back to your human lifespan, right where you left off. The age I mark you is the age you will look for the rest of your life with me."

She blinked rapidly, absorbing the new information. "How… What—"

"When you turn twenty-one, whether your mother still lives or not, I'm going to make you mine completely," he promised.

"Inuyasha," she whispered, her love and awe shining out at him from her eyes. Feeling safe again, his heart beat calmed and he leaned over to kiss her forehead.

"The humans will talk once it's known, but that will die down quickly. Everyone both covets and respects a mating mark, especially one of a wealthy, powerful demon. Or half-demon," he finished with a smirk.

"Braggart," she said with a laugh. Then, turning serious, "And what about Mother?"

Inuyasha sighed. "Telling her would be awkward but unavoidable. Remember, though, she has Suikotsu. I will build her company back up for her, well, for _you_ , really, and pay her a large allowance until her death. There will be a brief scandal, but it's not as though something like this has never happened before."

"But Mother… Mother loves you," she whispered.

"I'm sure she doesn't," he scoffed. "Don't keep telling yourself that. I want you and I will have only you, no matter what," he swore, more to himself than to her.

"And I want you, more than anything!" she said earnestly.

"Then say yes." He ran his fingers through her hair and caressed the nape of her neck.

"Yes. Yes. Yes." Kagome gave him a light kiss in between each "yes" and his heart soared. Everything would be alright. "So, can I go to school tomorrow?"

"Sure," he breathed, his eyes half-lidded, still slightly dazed from the passion of her last kiss. Kagome smiled and snuggled into him and they turned back to the movie, ignoring their collapsed pillow fort.


	25. A Little Unsteady

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Song for the chapter: Untouchable Face by Ani DiFranco*
> 
> Note: We have reached 100 reviews! Yay! Thank you, Princess Inume, for being lucky number 100. Have I mentioned that I really, really like reviews? They keep the tears at bay when the brutality of life on this earth threatens to overwhelm me. Like, why is McDonald's so strict about breakfast hours? Freaking fascists. Reviews also help motivate me. Although this fic has been completed for months, I'm writing another one, which is much shorter and doesn't deal with such controversial subject matter. I'm about half-way through and I hope to be finished with it as soon as Strictly Taboo is all uploaded. So please, tell me what you think of every chapter. If I could crawl in your brain and slurp your thoughts up myself I totally would, but unfortunately we do not yet have that technology, so writing it out is the best course of action here. Thanks for reading! I love you! =D

For the next week, the new intensity of emotions their conversation brought up lingered, although they never mentioned their promises after that. Inuyasha knew that it was on Kagome's mind just as much as it was on his own, but they had said all they needed to say for now and there was no use going over it again. It would just make the wait that much harder and the guilt (for her, anyway, since he was long past such things) that much worse.

It was just a boring, regular Tuesday when he had dropped Kagome off at school and realized he had forgotten his briefcase back at home. He had been kind of loopy ever since she had promised to be his mate and could only hope it would not last the nearly six years he had to wait before they'd be together completely. Almost kicking open the front door in his sudden frustration, he ran smack into Kikyo, who was in the middle of putting her coat back on and heading out. Inuyasha frowned, wondering if the change in his relationship could be seen in his face.

Clearing her throat, Kikyo said, "Is Kagome still sick?"

Inuyasha stared at her with a raised brow. They both knew she had already gone through the house and found it empty. If she would just say what she wanted to say and then go wherever she went every day, they'd be good. "I just dropped her off at school," he said, attempting to be polite.

"Good." Kikyo slipped her coat off and began to, once again, unbutton her blouse.

Sighing in exasperation, he grabbed her wrists and stopped her before she made herself too indecent. "Stop it, Kikyo, it's not going to happen."

"I don't want to die, Inuyasha!" Kikyo screamed, her cold façade cracking and nearly breaking his heart. No matter what had happened in the past, he didn't want to see her in pain.

Taking her into his arms, he stroked her back soothingly and whispered, "Nobody wants to die."

Her shoulders were shaking and she couldn't control her breathing. Pulling away, he buttoned her shirt back up, stopping when she grabbed his hands.

"But I don't have to die. You have the power to save me."

"W-what do you mean?" he stuttered, already knowing what she was going to say and dreading it.

"Mark me," she said in a raspy voice that suggested she had been crying before this last outburst. "Then we can live together, just you and me. Forever."

Flinging her hands from his, he looked at her in a mixture of pity and anger. "So that's what this was all about. It had nothing to do with Shikon. You're more than capable of handling that yourself. You just want to live forever."

The corners of her mouth turned down in a sneer and he was appalled at how un-Kikyo she was at the moment. "Are you going to deny me life? You are just going to sit there and watch me die, sit there and force Kagome to watch her mother die?!"

Her screamed, anguished words rang in his ears and Inuyasha flinched. "Kikyo, it's not natural. It's only for two people who are deeply in love."

"But don't you love me?" she said with a sob. "I still love you. I never stopped," she cried. He could see the truth in her eyes and it made him feel dizzy.

"That was a long time ago," he said gently, feeling helpless. "You left me because of my demonic blood, remember? Don't come crawling back because of it. I've moved on."

They stared at each other, and eventually Kikyo straightened and put her mask of propriety back on. "So that's it, then? You're sure? You're condemning me to death."

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he nodded cautiously. "Yes. I'm sure."

"I'm going to change your mind," she murmured so low that he could hardly hear her, clenching her fists. "I'll find a way. I won't let you do this to me."

Coughing nervously, he said, "I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened, alright? I've, uh, got to go to work now. I'll tell Kagome you stopped by when I pick her up. Is there anything you want to say?" he asked, moving past her to fetch his briefcase that he could see waiting for him on the couch.

"You've become quite the devoted father, Inuyasha. Just what she wanted," Kikyo said bitterly.

"Don't like it? Well, you started it," he said, always angry when she brought up Kagome.

"Do you want me to end it?" she asked, quiet and intense.

He glanced at her and shuddered. She seemed so much like a ghost, some vengeful spirit with her inky black hair and pale skin, that he wanted to run in childish fear. All resemblance to Kagome was gone; he couldn't see it even when he tried. He wasn't sure if it was her illness changing her or the time he spent with Kagome, but she seemed like a completely different person, and it was more than a little bit unsettling. Without a word or a glance, he walked out the door and rushed to work, pushing the strange moment out of his mind and concentrating on bland documents and irritating people.

Finally, it was time to pick up Kagome and he left happily, feeling like whistling. He didn't, of course, but the feeling was enough. The drive was longer than usual due to his impatience, and when he finally got there, he pulled in front, not bothering to honk the horn since she always waited just as impatiently for him and sometimes even hopped in the car before it came to a full stop. Watching the other students wait in groups and leave in pairs, he waited and waited, his fingers gripping the steering wheel tighter with each passing minute. Trying to calm himself, he just recited a list of things she could be doing. Helping one of her teachers, making new friends, going to the bathroom. Just because she wasn't there like she always was didn't mean she was _gone_.

That word brought up memories of the last time he couldn't find her and he began to panic. Kagome had convinced him she didn't need a bodyguard, and her school had promised constant supervision. Inuyasha knew it was a bad idea, especially after what happened to Sango, but Kagome had been so insistent, telling him having a tag-along prevented her from making friends. She had been so upset that he finally gave in, not wanting to make her feel like he was just another Kikyo when all he wanted to do was keep her with him, to shut her away even more than her mother had. Letting her go out there on her own, even if it was just high school, and make her own decisions was one of the hardest things he had ever done, but she needed to live her life her way or else he knew she wouldn't let him live it with her.

After fifteen minutes, he parked and forced himself not to run to the entrance, her name like a mantra in his head. He kept telling himself that she was okay, that nothing was wrong, but that didn't stop everything from feeling so out of order, as though he was in an early surrealist movie and this was just the beginning of his nightmare. A slit eyeball was a lot less scary than a missing Kagome, and he promised himself that he would hire a guard without her knowledge as soon as he found her, even if she was completely safe and sound.

He picked up a scent that was vaguely familiar and veered toward it. Bent over a water fountain stood the brown-haired boy that had been so infatuated with Kagome. Inuyasha sneered and stood behind him, patting him on the back a little harder than necessary in order to gain his attention. The boy whipped around, confused, the look on his face melting into comical terror as soon as he saw who had approached him. Trying to compose his facial expression into one of disinterested politeness, Inuyasha cleared his throat, absently noting that his hands were shaking.

"Where is Kagome?" he asked, no preamble wasted on the detestable sweat-covered human child.

"I-I-I-I s-saw her in geometry and in the halls, b-but we don't talk anym-more," the boy stuttered.

Inuyasha was both pleased and frustrated that Kagome had stopped allowing the idiot to hang around her. "Do you know where any of her other friends are, then?"

The boy's expression changed into something like pity. "Higurashi doesn't have any friends."

Inuyasha snorted. "Of course she has friends. Why the fuck wouldn't she?" Who wouldn't want to be friends with Kagome? She was perfect.

Then the pitying look was directed at him, something that made him want to run his claws down the boy's blandly handsome face. "She came late in the school year, for one, and that's hard even for freshmen. Then there was her overprotective guard and all her absences. Finally, she and I entered into something of a disagreement in front of nearly the entire school, and she ran off." He took a deep breath and shook his head. "I like Higurashi. A lot. But everyone thinks she's stuck up. I get along with mostly everybody, and even though I tried to tell people what she was really like, they wouldn't hear it. After the misunderstanding, it was like everyone's beliefs about her were confirmed. Not even I can change their minds anymore."

"That's fucking bullshit," Inuyasha growled, punching the wall next to the boy's head, satisfied when his entire body flinched. "Kagome is… She's…"

"Amazing," the boy finished. "I hope you find her. I'd help look, but I'm late for volunteering at the hospital as it is. Good luck!"

Inuyasha watched the boy jog off to his shiny BMW as he leaned against the wall. So, Kagome didn't have any friends. How had he never noticed? Come to think of it, she never really went anywhere but home and school. He had never even seen her talk to anyone but that nerd, and he had put a stop to that eventually. He had known that Sango was like an older sister, and perhaps her best friend, and maybe her only real friend, but he had always thought she'd have others around her. Others that wanted to be a part of her life but were denied entry. Did no one else see the gem that she was? Was this all his fault? He had kept her home more than a normal parent would, but there were good reasons. Shaking his head, he began to walk, trying to pick apart the various scents in the air for Kagome's special one. He had never had any friends, and he was perfectly fine. Kagome would get over her need to socialize once it ceased to be a novelty. They didn't need anyone but each other.

Suddenly, the salty and sweet scent that was hers drifted to him and he rushed in the direction. The scent was more or less fresh, and he laughed aloud at himself for being an idiot and thinking she had left him. Darting behind the school, he stopped. Her scent was coming from the area where they had found Sango. Kagome had been so shaken up after the incident that she told him she was having trouble even going near the back of the school building. Why would she be right where her guardian had been dumped so cruelly?

Confused, he walked to toward the dumpster that had held Sango's battered body, stumbling over something on the way. He looked down and his eyes widened. There was a red scarf and a brown shoe, just lying there in the middle of the path right next to a broken pile of glass and plastic. He told himself not to panic. The school had a uniform. Just because Kagome's scent led there and she was nowhere to be seen didn't mean—

Crouching down like a dog, he grabbed the shoe and sniffed desperately, not caring if anyone would see and think him to be some sort of crazy homeless meth addict with an odd fetish. Confirming his fears, he clutched onto the shoe and scarf, his stomach aching with loss, the smashed cell phone making everything so much worse.

Kagome was gone.

Her scent was only on those things she had been wearing. It was as though she had been plucked out of thin air and magicked off to nowhere. There was no way to track her, and he couldn't smell another person, just garbage. All sorts of thoughts ran through his head. Was she dead, killed? Was she raped and abandoned, hiding somewhere and still hurting? Was there some legitimate, non-terrifying reason she had discarded a single shoe and her scarf? Had she been kidnapped?

Falling to his knees and bowing over the articles of her clothing he held, his emotions threatened to overwhelm him and he fought for control, his inner demon seeing his current weakness as a prime opportunity to break free and rampage like it had centuries ago. His claws lengthened and he carefully ran one over her red cloth, wondering if smelling the material she wore around her neck would make it better or worse. Pressing it to his face and inhaling, he felt the blood rush and change throughout his body. It was both better a _nd_ worse. He and his demon became one, no longer at war, snarling their rage and howling at the setting sun, her absence magnifying the intensity and her scent clearing his mind, giving him a purpose, something to hold on for. Inuyasha was completely in control of his inner beast for the first time ever, the murderous rage that was its only emotion now his own, and his emotions its own.

Rising to his feet, Inuyasha walked steadily back to the parking lot, looking deceptively calm. He vowed to himself that if she was unharmed after all this, she would never leave again. At least not until every threat was eliminated, and that could very well take years. A part of him was already grieving for her but not acknowledging the darkest possibilities. He sighed and collapsed in the metal sanctuary that was his car. He could do it all himself, and he would like to, but that would take far too long. He needed to bring in Myoga. Pressing call, he heard the familiar, gruff voice on the first ring.

"Kagome's gone," he said, shuddering from chills now that he had said it aloud.

"What do you mean, Master Inuyasha?"

"I mean she's fucking _gone_ , you fucking idiot!" he yelled, feeling better at the small release of tension. "Her shoe and tie were left behind the school and she's not here. Her phone was smashed."

"I see," his long-time servant mumbled, sounding grave. "I'll have a team find her, dead or alive."

The phrase echoed in his head and he felt like screaming wordlessly, maybe destroying the school. "She's not fucking dead," he hissed, his throat tight. He didn't quite believe himself.

"Of course, sir. I will update you on any progress made."

Inuyasha hung up, flinging the phone onto the passenger seat, not wanting to even look at it without Kagome sitting there. Almost getting into several accidents along the way, he finally made it home, going to the backyard instead of straight inside. He collapsed on his back beneath the Goshinboku, staring up at the sky through its branches, most of it night with just a little day left over. He was having a hard time controlling his breathing. Memories were flitting through his head, one after another. The first time he saw her, how happy she was. Then when he _really_ saw her, in that white dress, looking like a Christmas angel. When he first kissed her. When he first touched her. When he first took her. Her kisses when she agreed to be bonded to him and wear his mark. Inuyasha felt like screaming again, like killing something, someone.

Deciding it was time to go in, he stumbled up to his room and crawled on the bed, facedown, smelling their united scent on the sheets. To his surprise, he was fighting back tears. He felt helpless and he hated himself. Why had he been so afraid of losing her that he allowed her to have her way and actually ended up literally _losing_ her? He should have at least gotten her another bodyguard. Then it hit him, the whole reason why he had given her a guard in the first place.

Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before, but the shock of her being gone was just too much at the beginning. He leapt up, clutching her red scarf, the beginnings of a roar in his throat. He would go straight to his bastard brother's home and tear him apart piece by piece until he told him what he had done with Kagome. Then he'd kill him once and for all, ending the stupid game they had been playing for far too long. He would even take Tenseiga, not because he wanted it but because he could, because fuck Sesshomaru. He would fucking pay.

"Inuyasha?" Kikyo's voice drifted through his door, sounding gentle, like she had been before. Inuyasha was startled. He hadn't even heard her coming. Opening his door without permission, she came inside. "What's wrong? Your eyes are red."

"You're here again?" he asked angrily, his voice scratchier and deeper than normal.

"I never left."

"She's gone. Kagome is gone," he croaked, wishing they had a more normal relationship so they could be sad for their child together and look to one another for support.

"What do you mean my daughter is gone?" she asked sharply.

"He took her!" he yelled, wanting her to understand without making him say it, just like Kagome did.

"You are not making sense. Where is Kagome?" she asked with a glare.

"How can you be so fucking calm?! My brother took her just to fuck with me. I'm losing my fucking mind, and you're just cool and collected. Fuck!" he cursed, wishing he hadn't even told her.

"Someone has to be. Shall we call the police, then?"

"No," he growled. "They would ruin the hunt with their laws. I will kill him and bring her back myself."

She nodded after a long pause. "Very well, then. I leave it in your hands. Until then, we should make use of this rare chance to be alone. We haven't had a chance to speak much lately. Some good may come of this."

He took a step towards her, becoming angrier when she didn't even flinch. "What the fuck are you saying? I don't know how this still surprises me. You are not the woman you were. You only get in the way."

Kikyo chuckled, but there was no warmth to it. "No wonder Kagome has such a crush on you with the way you're always running to her rescue. I know your intentions are pure, but it's cruel to lead her on like this."

Inuyasha was tempted to tell her everything, throw the whole truth in her face, tell her how much he loved Kagome and how often. It took a great amount of will to stop himself, Kagome's face flashing in his mind. She wouldn't want it to be like this. He needed to find her before he did something stupid. He couldn't be wasting his time allowing Kikyo to drag him into her evil arguments. Pushing past her, he rushed down the stairs and out the door, paying no heed to her calls for him to come back.


	26. Suspension Without Suspense

***Song for the chapter: Suspension Without Suspense by No Doubt***

Inuyasha ran on foot, not caring that he was barefoot or that anyone could see him and recognize him and potentially embarrass him in the future when he was saner and not so frantic. He knew exactly where Sesshomaru lived. The demon was not fond of change and had resided in the same place for the last three-hundred years or so, a vast mansion in the middle of nowhere. Before that, he had wandered around the country, neither eating nor sleeping, caught up in his whole "daddy didn't love me" spoiled brat existential crisis. Occasionally, he would track him down and attempt to kill him, pulling away at the last minute and leaving. Inuyasha suspected that Sesshomaru didn't have the balls to kill anyone. The bastard had the coldest mask he had ever seen, even colder than Kikyo's, but underneath that he was just a preening primadonna bitch who should have been disciplined more harshly as a kid. A good whack on the head or three a day would have cured his insufferable arrogance early on.

His anger building with each leap and bound, he eventually arrived at the property that was only slightly less isolated than his own. Sesshomaru had actual neighbors within a five mile distance. All demon neighbors, though. Inuyasha could smell it. Even the goddamn servants were demon; he knew how this crowd was. The only humans were perhaps gardeners or outdoor workers, which would account for the faint little whiff of human he picked up.

Breaking through the heavy oak door with a single kick, Inuyasha roared out his brother's name. " _SESSHOMARU_!"

He had always hated his brother, but now he had gone too far. Trying to kill him was one thing, but taking Kagome, the only sweetness in his life? Now he would actually try and kill him instead of just dancing around his attacks. A blur came towards him and he suddenly found himself pinned to the wall by his neck next to the shattered remnants of the door frame.

"What do you want, bastard? You should be killed just for daring to set foot on my territory, never mind the destruction."

Inuyasha glared at his brother, who still looked the same as he had the last time he had seen him, what must have been sixty years ago.

"Where is she, you fucking candy-assed son of a whore?!" he screamed, keeping still, intending to strike once he had the information he came for.

Sesshomaru tightened his grip, his claws piercing Inuyasha's neck ever so slightly. "Where is who? This Sesshomaru has no time for your idiocies."

He growled, beginning to tense. The bastard knew who Kagome was. Inuyasha knew his brother kept tabs on him, hoping for any weakness he could exploit. He probably knew Kagome was his daughter before he did, doing nothing to stop it even when they were obviously lovers. But blackmail wasn't Sesshomaru's style. Neither was exposing a terrible secret and dragging their long dead father's name through the mud. Having a half-demon for a brother was shame enough, and Sesshomaru would do anything to keep Inuyasha's darker transgressions quiet, something which might have led him to dispose of Kagome.

"Kagome! What the fuck did you do with Kagome! I'll fucking kill you for touching her."

Sesshomaru smiled in a way that was not quite a smile, something he had perfected long ago. "You are in no position to be making threats, bastard. This Sesshomaru knows nothing of the whereabouts of this woman, but I would be as big a fool as you are if I let pass this opportunity."

Momentarily shocked by Sesshomaru's use of the word "I", Inuyasha did not begin to struggle until his brother's energy whip had already formed and he had raised his hand. He steeled himself, waiting for the blow in order to dodge it, already planning a counter-attack.

"What is Sesshomaru-sama doing?"

Inuyasha fell to the floor with a thump, bruising his tailbone and narrowly missing a jagged stake of wood that would have surely impaled him in a most unpleasant fashion. He gasped for breath, able to breathe freely now that he didn't have an enraged demon woken from his beauty sleep at his throat. On the staircase just beyond the doorway stood a little girl, one fist rubbing the sleep from an eye and the other holding on to a stuffed white dog. In shock, he observed that she was wearing a man's nightshirt that had slid off her left shoulder, exposing a series of light bite marks, if a bite that left a mark could be called light.

"Rin, you must sleep. Go back to your room."

The little girl skipped over, completely ignoring the giant hole in the wall where the door used to be. "But Rin wants to stay with you! Who's that man with the puppy ears?"

"Go to your room, Rin. We will speak in the morning," Sesshomaru said, glancing back at Inuyasha as though embarrassed at the revelation of his domestic life, yet not at all ashamed. He swallowed back his disgust.

"Rin can't sleep without a story!" she said, pouting adorably in a stubborn manner that reminded him of Kagome and made his heart ache. What if he had been around to care for her when she was little? Would he have loved her as he did now? Would she feel anything towards him? "Tell me another one about the genocide of the Birds of Paradise," Rin continued, stumbling over the big word. "You always tell me a story after—"

"Go to your room and this Sesshomaru will be up shortly."

The little girl beamed up at him and he smoothed her hair in an uncharacteristically gentle manner, kissing the worst bite mark before tugging the neck of her nightshirt back in place. She nodded goodbye at Inuyasha and skipped back up the stairs, not looking back once. Sesshomaru watched her until she disappeared and then turned to glare at him. They were silent, both thinking their private thoughts.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Inuyasha rasped, his throat still healing and his stomach roiling. "Is this some sort of oddly specific mental asylum for people who speak in the third-person?" Making a joke was the only way he could regain some sense of normalcy after what he had just witnessed. He should have known. It was always bastards like his brother that had the worst desires.

"That is none of your concern," Sesshomaru said with narrowed eyes. "Now leave before I kill you."

"You're harboring a human," he said with a grin, an idea occurring to him as he rose to his feet. "A little human girl. Here in your house, miles away from anyone. Sounds like it should be CPS's business. It's at least enough to get you kicked out of your fucking country club."

"What I do with her is none of your concern." Sesshomaru sighed, for once looking weary instead of stoic and cold. "You must have noticed that Jaken has ceased his calls."

Inuyasha hadn't, too wrapped up in romancing Kagome to remember what life had been like before her. But what did his annoying and more than likely homosexual frog-slave-thing have to do with anything? Before the little girl showed up, he had assumed his older brother had some very strange amphibian fetishes. In comparison, a kid was almost normal. The older demon answered his unspoken question.

"For hundreds of years, I have been trying to take Tetsusaiga. It is only recently that this Sesshomaru began to question why. _I_ no longer care. _I_ am going to sell Tenseiga and retire. Perhaps in a century or so I will start my own business, but I am no longer a slave to envy and dreams of a dead man's pride. I will live how I want for once, even if it brings harm to others. Sound familiar?"

Inuyasha stayed silent, absorbing the information. So his brother hadn't taken Kagome. But maybe his sudden visit wouldn't go to waste. "I will buy Tenseiga."

Sesshomaru glared at him. "One such as you is not worthy to—"

"Stuff it. If I bought Tenseiga, it would continue on for as long as I am alive. I wouldn't change it drastically or anything. Father's legacy would continue."

Sesshomaru looked at him, really looked at him for the first time he could remember. Slowly, he began to nod. "I see the sense, yes. This Sesshomaru will charge you the full amount and then half of it again. Do you want it that badly?"

"That depends," Inuyasha drawled, trying not to sound desperate, although he supposed that was a lost cause since he had literally come bashing through the door in a complete rage. "You know people, right? You have to. You sell to mercenaries and big gangs and secret government agencies and stuff."

"I know many of that sort, yes."

"Help find Kagome, and I will buy Tenseiga."

"What is this woman to you?" Sesshomaru asked, hardly curious.

"Everything," Inuyasha said solemnly.

"Then I refuse."

Inuyasha sneered, barely suppressing a threatening growl. "Then your little human girl will become a household name. 'Rinlita Scandal'. I can see it now. They'll take her away from you and stick her in a foster home where some overweight, greasy man can do to her what you do only without a fucking story afterward, just a black eye."

"Are you trying to blackmail me, half-demon?" Sesshomaru asked, having the gall to look slightly amused. "If you continue, I just might laugh."

"Impossible. Anyway, you've gotten in tight with a bunch of powerful demons, but you have completely neglected humans, and like it or not, they run the world. Now I, on the other hand, am half-human and have many human allies. Let that sink in. I can do you so much public damage that even your fucking demon brown-nosers won't stick around."

"I see," Sesshomaru said with a nod. "You are definitely the type to follow through on that. Very well. This Sesshomaru grows tired of your ramblings. If it will get your filthy self out of my house, I will send men to find the girl, provided you purchase Tenseiga."

Inuyasha grunted in response, a thought then occurring to him. "You could have just killed me once she left."

"I can still kill you. But Rin is waiting and I do not wish to hear her whine about the smell of blood. She is a gentle child."

Inuyasha snickered. "Humans can't fucking smell blood unless they're right next to it," he pointed out, the look of undisguised surprise on Sesshomaru's face making him wish he had a camera. "Are you… What is the little girl to you?"

Sesshomaru actually smiled, and it was slightly frightening. "You've taken your teenage daughter as your mistress without telling her the truth about the two of you, and yet you judge me? For what reason does a man keep a female of any kind around, Inuyasha? Although I do wonder from time to time which of us is worse."

Inuyasha's throat went dry and he changed the subject, hoping that Sesshomaru was at least gentle with the child. She had seemed innocent and carefree and normal enough despite everything, and it wasn't like he could take the girl somewhere safe if he still wanted his brother's help. "Please. Just find her. I will never ask you for anything again."

"You better not. Now get out of my house."

Inuyasha complied, staying lost in his thoughts the entire trek home. He felt broken. It was a small victory over his brother, certainly not his first and probably not his last. But was it even a victory? That child, what would become of her? Those marks weren't of the mating variety, but something about them signaled intent, he wasn't sure how he knew, but he did. He only hoped he would wait at least until after the girl began to menstruate, but looking at her that would be quite far off in the future. In a way, it reminded him of Kagome and what he did with her, to her, for her. Seeing their relationship exaggerated in such a grotesque mirror had disturbed him down to his very bones. Shaking his head, he resolved to put that problem out of his mind. Kagome was all that mattered, all that would ever matter, and he repeated that to himself until he pictured the wrinkles and folds of his brain rearranging themselves to spell it out. Once he was home, he was glad to find Kikyo was in her room and sleeping quietly, her slow, even breathing tipping him off to the fact. He didn't know what he would do if she was awake to pester him. Collapsing onto his bed, he fished Kagome's red silk scarf from his pocket and inhaled, her faint scent bringing tears to his eyes instead of comforting him like it used to.


	27. A Million Miles Away

***Song for the chapter: The Moon Song by Karen O***

Five days. It had been five entire days since he had last seen her, touched her, kissed her goodbye. Inuyasha hardly slept now, always waiting for Myoga or Jaken to call and tell him something, anything. Hopefully something hopeful. Even bad news, as long as he knew for certain what had happened. Then he could concentrate on revenge and leave the limbo Kagome had left him in. Alone. In agony.

Most of all, he wanted to drink. He had been in the habit of drinking quite a bit before Kikyo had reentered his life, dragging her (their, he reminded himself) precious daughter behind her. But he was afraid that if he drank he'd pass out and miss the call that would change everything, dead to the world. And what if she came back somehow and found him on the floor in a puddle of his own vomit instead of waiting? That would be unforgivable. Kagome would hate him, and rightfully so.

Inuyasha called Myoga every hour, even though he knew it wasn't making a difference. The old flea demon was being quite kind to him, considering the fact that Inuyasha was perpetually angry and it only got worse with every call. He accepted the verbal abuse and the threats of physical harm and only gave back a calm answer, noticeably laced with pity. It was always the same.

"Nothing new yet, Master Inuyasha."

Letting out a strained growl, he hung up and raised his arm to throw the phone across the room, stopping himself at the last minute. Really, he wanted to be out there looking for her himself, but he wanted to be home in case she found her way back. She would be scared and she would need him to hold her, love her, tell her she was safe. Although he naturally excelled at tracking, he and Sesshomaru had employed full-demons who were trained in that as well as detective work and he could admit to himself (privately) that they stood a much better chance of finding her than one sad old half-demon.

He mostly stayed in his room all day in bed, the way they both had when his wife was gone and she didn't have school. Kagome's scent had almost completely disappeared, covered up by his own reeking sadness. Her room smelled even less like her. Inuyasha almost pulled out the old Ziploc bag of her panties that he kept in his briefcase back before they had gone all the way, but he denied himself. It wouldn't feel right, what with the possibility of her laying in a ditch somewhere, alone and cold and—

"Inuyasha? Do you remember what day it is today?"

He blinked in confusion at Kikyo's hazy form. He hadn't even noticed her entrance. She coughed nervously and continued.

"It's my birthday. Would you like to go out for a bit? You've been cooped up in here for so long. I thought you might want a little fresh air. It would do you good."

Inuyasha glared at her, trying to telepathically communicate that he wanted her to leave. She had been sneaking up on him every day, bringing him food which he never touched and launching pathetic attempts at cheering him up. She seemed so sure they'd get Kagome back unharmed, as though her daughter was just off missing nearly a week at some kind of tea party and they had no reason to worry about her. He wondered how she could be so unconcerned when he couldn't close his eyes without seeing all the most gruesome possibilities displayed there, over and over in his mind. His sweet little girl. What had become of her? Would he ever get her back? If the worst had in fact happened, he would only stay alive long enough to completely avenge her and then some before joining her again. The world without her was like meat without salt.

His ring tone blasted out, an annoying rap song that Kagome had picked out as a joke that never failed to make him cringe with its chorus of "blahblahblah Big Poppa blah". Inuyasha's hands shook. This was the first time Myoga had actually called him since Kagome went missing. The news could be good or bad. The best or the worst. Life or… not life.

"H-hello?"

Myoga was breathing hard and he could feel his excitement. "Sir, we're outside the location where we are largely certain she is being held. Your brother's people traced the kidnappers to this address. I'll text it to you now. We're going to ambush them. Come quickly." This time, Myoga hung up on him.

Immediately, the text came and he pulled up directions quicker than quick.

"Who was it?" Kikyo asked, only mildly curious. He looked up from his cell in distaste, only just remembering that Kagome was her daughter too and she deserved to know.

"They found her," he said, letting his excitement show. "Maybe. They found who took her, anyway."

"Are you leaving?"

He was already out the door. Inuyasha ran on foot, jumping over buildings and trees and cars, not caring about anything but finding Kagome. All this time he had been stressing and despairing and agonizing and she had only been five miles into town.

The sun was setting when he arrived at the scene. The neighborhood was small and middle middle-class. He picked up his assistant's scent in a copse of trees and made a bee-line for it, careful to stay out of plain sight in case anyone should see. Myoga was with several professional-looking people and some men who were geared up like a SWAT team. For once, he thanked the heavens for his brother. They were all looking at a small house on the opposite side of the street. It was squat and yellow, looking like it was inhabited by someone's grandma. There was gravel instead of grass and no shrubbery whatsoever.

"It's the Band of Seven," Myoga whispered to him.

"Then Onigumo is behind this?" Inuyasha asked, clenching his fists. He was gonna deal with that fucker once and for all as soon as he got Kagome back. The slimy man was hard to find, but he'd do it. For Kagome, he'd do anything.

His assistant nodded. "More than likely. They could be acting on their own, but I doubt it. Whatever you do, don't just rush in there—"

Again, he was already gone. Inuyasha kicked down the cheap white door of the one-story house, not bothering with stealth. A confused, effeminate face appeared before him and he saw red. The scent of her blood was in the air, along with her tears and the semen of many different men. He clawed the man down and he died without even a scream. Face after face, seven in all, room after room. Inuyasha moved faster than he thought possible, some part of him aware of everything and enjoying their blood on him, the feeling of their flesh being rent apart by his strong hands. Seven, dead in under a minute. These were Onigumo's elite? Laughable.

Kagome.

He smelled her, still, even through the thick, cloying scent of blood. Following the trail, he found her in a small room in the back of the house. It looked like it had originally been a closet but then someone had expanded it. The door was wide open and there she was, chained to an uncomfortable-looking bare cot, naked and blind-folded and even gagged, caked in blood and cum, obviously having been unwashed since her capture. She wasn't moving, and he felt like screaming and killing them all over again, slower so that they would suffer. He had only been thinking of getting to Kagome, not bringing justice. Stepping closer to her, he saw that she was covered in bruises, some in the shape of entire handprints. They had cut thin lines into her, shallow enough so that she would bleed while not retaining a permanent scar, yet she would still have a physical reminder of the nightmare for over a month. There was a name carved as well. Bankotsu. Over and over, on her arms and stomach and legs and neck and breasts. The streaks of semen seemed to be aimed at those morbid signatures, some hitting them dead center, whiting out the k and o, and others way off the mark, as evidenced by the amount of the substance in her hair.

Inuyasha broke her chains, surprised he could do anything with how badly his hands were shaking. She was alive, at least. He wanted to hold her and bathe her and never let go. He broke the chains on her ankles next, then gently removed her gag. Feeling the air get knocked out of him, he flinched back in surprise to see Kagome kicking out at him.

"No more! Don't show me anymore!" she screamed, her voice hoarse and dry.

Desperately, he clawed off her blindfold, wanting to speak and soothe her but not having the words to do so, his voice long gone down his tightened, burning throat. The cloth that had blinded her was soaked with tears. Kagome's eyes squinted as they adjusted to the dim light and she blinked rapidly.

"Inuyasha? Are you really here?"

He pressed her to him, not caring about the filth that covered her body. She still smelled like her, underneath all the mess. She was real. She was there. No one would take Kagome from him again. Shrugging off his coat, he helped her into it and lifted her up, cradling her against his chest. Silent tears were streaming down her face.

"Don't cry, Kagome," he whispered. "You won't ever need to cry again. Let's go home."

Inuyasha exited the room, nearly slipping on the blood that pooled on the wood floor. The girl in his arms stared at the collection of mangled corpses, her eyes hard. Inuyasha hated to see that. She had lost her innocence, part of the essential Kagome make-up. Would she ever get it back? Was that even possible?

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her. "I'm so, so sorry." Sorry that he had allowed her to be taken, sorry that he hadn't found her immediately, sorry that he hadn't drawn out their deaths, sorry that she had to see the bodies.

She said nothing.

He made his way carefully out of the house of death, brushing past Myoga and his people who were now crowded outside the house. Holding Kagome tighter in his arms, he picked up the pace, not wanting anyone to see her this way.

"She needs to see a doctor, Master Inuyasha."

He froze and turned around. Yes, she needed her wounds treated, needed her abused parts seen to.

"I will not have anyone touching me," she said, her voice rising almost hysterically.

Inuyasha rocked her gently, trying to calm her. "It'll be alright, Kagome. I'll call Kaede, okay? Will you let Kaede help you?"

She looked up at him, her eyes big and watery and showing him that she felt betrayed. "No! You said you'd take me home. I need to go _home_!" She was outright screaming now, her tears falling faster.

Myoga stepped in. "Miss Kagome, a doctor is necessary. The Band of Seven are, er, were not known for being gentle and you may have sustained permanent physical damage in addition to the glaringly obvious psychological damage," he droned, ignoring Inuyasha's venomous glare.

"They didn't rape me," she said, quiet and angry. "They touched me and grabbed me and cut me, but they didn't rape me. Now let me go home."

"Are you quite sure? You might have blocked it out—"

"I swear!" she shrieked. "If they raped me, I would say something. Now just take me home before I break completely."

Something about the way she said the last part convinced Inuyasha and he nodded at Myoga. A woman came forward and he sat down at the curb, imprisoning Kagome on his lap and in his arms. She trembled, defeated, but did not struggle. The woman examined her, probing her, taking swabs and bandaging the deepest cuts, disinfecting, and finally arrived at the place only he had seen before the entire ordeal, shining a flashlight into her and coolly observing. The girl shook harder in his arms, now openly sobbing. He felt numb, the knife in his gut and the knife in his heart temporarily absent.

"There are no signs of forced vaginal entry or otherwise," the doctor murmured, mostly to herself before rising up and pulling off her gloves. Inuyasha nearly fell backwards in relief.

"I told you," Kagome muttered hatefully between clenched teeth. "Now let me go home."

Inuyasha looked to the doctor for permission, rising when she nodded and took her clipboard of notes back to the direction of the car she had arrived in.

"I want to walk."

"Huh?" he asked, surprised at the girl's tone. Was she mad at him?

"Put. Me. Down," she hissed. She was so angry, her voice so insistent, that he reluctantly did as she asked, incredibly confused.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Kagome pushed away from him, stumbling as she did so. He could see her legs tremble; her muscles were fatigued and she likely had not stood since she had been taken. He reached out to help her but Myoga got there first, gently laying a hand on her arm and leading her away to a car.

"This way, Miss Kagome." His assistant looked back at him and shook his head in apology. Inuyasha began to follow them, but Kagome, sensing his movements, turned her head toward him and shot him a glare that nearly made him fall to his knees. She looked heartbroken and enraged. She _hated_ him now. But why? Inuyasha opened his mouth to ask her, but nothing came out, and then she was in the car and being driven away from him.


	28. Beware of Young Girls

***Song for the chapter: Beware of Young Girls by Dory Previn***

Inuyasha ran, his heart thundering in his chest as he breathed to a panicked beat through his open mouth, heedless of the bugs that tried to make their way inside. What had they done to her? Had they brainwashed her? _Why_? What was the whole thing really about? Surely not over Kikyo, this was going too far for something like that, even for some stupid bastard like Onigumo. Just when he had gotten Kagome back, she was taken from him again, this time of her own free will and by her own self. He almost laughed aloud at how cruel life consistently was to him.

He arrived at home several hours after Kagome's rescue, having wandered about in a heartbroken daze for the majority of the time, not even knowing where he had been and what he had done. If she did not want him, where could he go? What could he do? The look she had given him haunted him and made him feel sick. His gut and solar plexus ached like she had beaten him. Still, he came back home, knowing she was there. They would get through this ordeal. They had to. No matter what, they were tied through blood and that meant they belonged together.

He walked in to see Kagome curled up on the couch, sobbing loudly, her head in Kikyo's lap. It was the most affectionate he had ever seen the pair, but Kikyo was still only just tolerating her daughter, one pale hand hovering above her head, not quite touching the damp, recently washed mass of hair to soothe like any other mother would.

"Kagome," he breathed. Just seeing her there was unbelievable. He knew his love and longing showed in both his face and voice but did not care who saw anymore. She was safe. She was with him. She would never go away again. Kagome made a choking noise when she heard his voice and her sobs ceased. Slowly, she raised her upper body from Kikyo's lap, and he felt a cold dread in the pit of his stomach. Did she really hate him?

"I don't want him here!" the girl cried. Her cheeks were pink, her nose was running, and her eyes were puffy and red, but she was still so incredibly, preciously beautiful. She had changed into her old nightgown, the only one she had owned before the move and marriage, despite the fact that she had passionately told him she never wanted to wear the ugly thing again.

Being too stunned to think up a response, he just stood there and let Kikyo jump at the opportunity.

"Why, Kagome! That's quite rude. Your step-father was looking for you this entire time. It was he who found you."

"I don't care!" she said, her voice rising and sounding strangled. "I don't want him around me ever again!"

"Why?" he finally asked. "What did they do to make you hate me?" Inuyasha was passed hurt now. He could only feel rage, a dark kind he had never experienced before. He wanted Kikyo gone, and he wanted to grab Kagome by the throat and shake her until she remembered they belonged to one another.

"They showed me what you are, what you really are. You're a monster," she said, her voice cracking.

Her words infected the atmosphere of the room, mingling with every bit of matter. He didn't know whether he'd be able to breathe in that room again without tasting her hatred. Collapsing into the chair across from where she was, he restrained himself from getting up and forcing her to see things his way. He had not been called a monster in nearly a century, and then he had just laughed it off. But this hurt, far more than the taunts from his youth. Kagome and time had healed those, but who would heal the wounds she gave?

The girl pushed away from Kikyo and ran upstairs to her room, her previous unsteadiness seemingly all gone. She had him and his genes to thank for that. Inuyasha watched her go, not capable of doing much else. Kikyo did not go after her, but he wished she would. He needed solitude to recover enough so that he could pretend to be normal.

"What did they do to her?" he asked the room, surprised he had spoken.

"She refuses to speak of it," Kikyo murmured, standing and smoothing her fitted skirt.

"She hates me."

His wife sighed and turned to him with sad eyes. "I know you were fond of her, but think. This terrible thing might have something good come out of it. Her hero-worship of you had begun to turn into a pathetic infatuation that would have brought us all quite the headache."

Inuyasha did not respond; she did not deserve it. Eventually, Kikyo left the room, drifting he cared not where to do he cared not what. He stayed in the chair all night, not going upstairs to his room because he would have to pass _hers_ and he did not trust himself to simply walk straight to his destination without confronting Kagome in what would certainly be a violent, tear-filled battle.

He stayed in his semi-meditative state, thoughts bouncing off the walls of his skull, few lingering long enough for him to fully comprehend. Inuyasha was not completely sure that he remembered how to live without her. He found himself hoping this hatred would leave her with time, but deep in his heart he felt it would not. An emptiness was growing in him, a lack of feeling manifesting so strongly that it was in itself a feeling. The emptiness ate away at him throughout the night. This grief, if that's what it was, was different from the anger he felt at his father's demise and the sorrow he felt at his mother's death. He now mourned Kagome's love, and his grief was so strong that he could only feel it in bits and pieces.

It was morning before he knew it, and suddenly Kagome appeared before him on the stairs, dressed in her school uniform. She was trying her best to pretend not to notice him, but her hands were shaking and he could see the unshed tears glittering in her eyes.

"What are you doing?" he croaked, almost afraid to speak to her.

"Going to school," she answered after a beat, doing her best Kikyo impression. He felt the dark rage return and replace the emptiness. Perhaps _that_ was the true form of the emptiness.

"The fuck you are."

"I called Myoga. A car is waiting outside."

"Where's your Mother?" he asked as he rose. She flinched at his movement.

"She left for work. Didn't you see her go?" she sneered, going from ice princess to bitch just like that.

"Good."

Inuyasha stepped in front of the door before she could blink, blocking the exit. Avoiding eye contact with him, she turned to leave and go out the back way, but he shook his head and she got the message. She would not be leaving today. Kagome huffed irritably and stomped over to the couch, then sat down.

"Good," he said again, slowly stalking towards her. He stopped his somewhat menacing approach when she loudly burst into tears.

"What? What did they do to you?! I need to know everything."

"Just stay away from me!" she sobbed. He was at her side in an instant.

"Kagome," he murmured soothingly, taking her into his arms, relaxing when he smelled pure her and nothing else.

" _Don't touch me_!" she screamed, violently pushing him away from her and quickly moving to the other end of the couch.

"Why?!" This time he was the one doing the screaming.

"Because you're a monster."

That word again. Inuyasha was shocked into breathlessness. Did she really believe that? Had they lied to her, or, even more horrific, told her truths about his past? Worst of all, had they figured it out? Did they know that Kagome was his daughter? Had they told her? The questions swirled around into one blurred feeling and then melted away again into the rage.

"I can and I have been a monster. But what does that make you?" he said, quiet and bitter.

Her sobs stopped. "What?"

"What. Does. That. Make. _You_." Inuyasha leaned in and whispered the last part, breathing the word onto her lips. "I'll tell you, little girl. You're just the monster's whore, and that makes you a monster as well. Maybe even a worse monster than I am."

"No," Kagome cried, clutching her blouse over her heart. He found the gesture overly dramatic and smirked.

"Think of all the things you let me do to you," he whispered, trailing a finger down her cheek. She turned her face away and shut her eyes but moved no further. "And all the things you did to me."

"Stop it! Leave me alone," she whimpered miserably. She faced him again and he could feel her hot breath, taste her panic.

"We've come too far for that, angel. I'm in this for the long haul. I've invested too much in you to just let you go."

"I don't want this." Tears were again swimming in her gray eyes. He could see himself in them.

"Too bad." Inuyasha leaned in half an inch and pressed his lips to hers. It was like their first kiss in the way that he felt so much and she did not even respond. Licking at her bottom lip, he bit down when she didn't open, his fang nicking her. Kagome gasped and his tongue entered her mouth. She bit down hard and he grunted in pain as she shoved him away and shot to her feet.

" _I just want to be normal_!" she screamed, her face going red with the force of it. "I wish I had never met you. This never happened, okay?" she said, her voice shaking with the last word. "We never happened."

"Fuck you," he whispered, wiping the mixture of their blood from his lips. " Fuck. You."

"Your words can't hurt me anymore," she said childishly. "Only people I love can hurt me."

Inuyasha rose slowly and licked his lips, smearing them with the last bit of blood from his tongue. "I can hurt you with these." He held up his hands, the morning sunlight glinting off his sharp claws. "I can tear you apart. You'll be on the floor in pieces before you can scream." Kagome was visibly trembling, and as broken and angry as he felt, his heart softened and bled for her. "But I could never do that, Kagome. Not to you. I could do it _for_ you, a thousand times a day, but never _to_ you." She did not respond and he gave a short, humorless laugh. "I just wish you would let me know why."

"This fucked up situation is enough for me to do what I'm doing," she said harshly.

Flinching, he realized he had never once heard her curse before, apart from their sex play, and that was only on especially heated occasions and with a lot of encouragement.

"You've broken my heart," he choked out, ashamed at this sign of his weakness.

Kagome looked him straight in the eyes and he could see no love there, not anymore. "You have no heart." She turned to leave.

"Kagome!" he called, his voice uncomfortably loud and pleading.

"What?" she spat out, back turned to him.

"Don't. Don't leave me."

He knew she would be back when school was over, but they both knew what he meant. She stood still and he hoped against hope that she would turn and run into his arms and tell him everything, but then her shoulders slumped and she walked to the door.

"I'm staying late today. I'll be home in time for dinner. Let Mother know."

And then she was gone.

His heart began beating faster and faster and he frantically wondered if a half-demon could have a heart attack.

" _Fuck_!" Inuyasha screamed wordlessly and threw the end table into the television without even noticing what he was doing.

"Fuckfuckfuck!" he punched the wall beside the broken TV with each word, breaking a hole and making it wider and wider.

"Fuck," he whispered, turning his back to the wall. He slid down until he was sitting on the floor and then the tears started.

" _Fuck_."


	29. Do You Remember When

***Song for the chapter: Boyfriend by Schoolyard Heroes***

**Note: Holy shizz, you guys, I actually uploaded this in the morning like I usually do but I forgot to post it. I only figured it out just now so SORRY and I LOVE YOU.**

Kagome was around less and less and Kikyo was around more and more after hiring multiple guards to shadow Kagome at all times and leaving Walker temporarily in charge of Shikon. Inuyasha got nothing but glares from Kagome and it was wearing him out quickly. Being around Kikyo was refreshing in comparison. He let her hang around him at first only because he hoped it would upset Kagome and bring her to her senses, maybe even make her jealous, but she wasn't around enough to see or notice. Eventually, he began to purposefully seek Kikyo out and talk to her, enjoying her quiet company and soothing presence. His wife no longer tried to throw herself at him and he was grateful. He really didn't think he could handle actions like that at this point. It was… nice. She still hinted at wanting to consummate their marriage, and as the days went by he began to want that too, and not just to hurt Kagome or rub it in her face. Inuyasha wanted to make Kikyo happy. She had a lot of time on her hands now that she had broken it off with Suikotsu, apparently through a text that he never replied to.

Whenever Kagome was home, she was never alone. He knew she did that on purpose in order to avoid him, and it pissed him off to no end. That besotted idiot and that hive-mind of three girls he could barely tell apart were always with her, the latter frequently spending the night. They were always cooped up in her room, studying and laughing, watching movies, being young. Every time he caught himself listening, he looked around for Kikyo and they would talk of the old days or their businesses. Normal, comfortable things.

And then came the announcement.

It was one of those rare dinners where they were all together, actually at the dining room table, just the three of them. The very picture of a happy family. Kagome had made a not completely disgusting casserole that was some kind of chicken and mushroom thing covered in cheddar. Only the sound of forks and knives were heard, the constant tension of late between him and Kagome reaching even Kikyo and making the atmosphere one of nervousness. Inuyasha was looking everywhere but at _her_ , shoveling the food down in order to escape to his room and desperately try not to think about her for the rest of the night.

"Hojo asked me to be his girlfriend today!" Kagome chirped suddenly in her sunshineyest voice.

His fork fell with a clatter and his hands were trembling. Inuyasha quickly stuck them under the table to avoid having them noticed.

"The doctor's son?" Kikyo asked, oblivious to his dilemma. She had mellowed out a lot towards Kagome since he had stopped spending all his time with her, and their mother-daughter relationship was almost normal.

Kagome nodded. "His father is a surgeon and his mother is an attorney who's considering entering into politics. I said yes."

"If it were anyone else, I would refuse, but he's a good catch. His parents come from money, too. Try and hold onto this one."

Inuyasha looked back and forth between them. Kagome was smiling pleasantly at her plate and Kikyo had begun to eat again. He glared at Kagome, willing her to look at him, but she simply asked to be excused and rose at her mother's assent, taking her plate still full of food and dumping it in the sink while humming what sounded like half of the Winnie the Pooh theme song. That was when he made his decision.

He waited until Kikyo announced she was tired and got up to go to her room. It took her by surprise when he kissed her on the cheek, and she actually gasped. His wife blushed, actually blushed, something he had never seen her do even when they had first been going out, and slowly went to her room, glancing at him before shutting the door. Immediately after he heard her switch the light off and settle into bed, he ran down the hall to Kagome's room and quietly picked the lock with his claw. Opening the door noiselessly, he slid inside, taking a big whiff of pure Kagome. The lights were off and he could tell by her breathing that she was asleep.

Inuyasha walked over to the bed, the one he had chosen for her, the one he had given her, the one identical to the other that had become ruined with blood stains and replaced. Parting the sheer, floaty curtains, he gazed down at her. The love was still there, vibrating in his solar plexus, never to leave him, but it now went hand in hand with that dark rage. With a sudden movement, he yanked the covers back and stared at her nearly nude body. She was just wearing a pair of simple white panties, nothing else. A lust rose in him so strong that he almost forced himself on her. Inuyasha knelt beside her still form on the mattress, devouring her with his eyes. Before he could stop himself, he placed a hand on her breast and squeezed. Kagome continued to sleep, but sighed softly. He repositioned himself, placing one knee on either side of her thighs. Slowly, reverently, he brought his head down and kissed her left nipple. She did not stir. He began to gently lick and suck, just like old times. He continued playing with her breasts and trailed his fingers down her body, rubbing at her entrance slowly, tracing her clit with his thumb.

"Inuyasha, I don't wanna go to school yet," the girl murmured groggily, causing him to still. She jerked, realization setting it. "I-Inuyasha?!" she screeched, and he quickly covered her mouth.

"Be quiet," he hissed sharply. When he was fairly sure she would obey, he removed his hand.

"What are you doing in here?" she whispered angrily.

"Well, I _did_ want to make you scream, just a little later," he teased, wiggling his finger that was still inside her.

She gasped and he gathered her into his arms. When she pushed him away, he cupped her ass in his hands and pressed his erection into her, grinding himself into her heat.

"Let me finish what I started, angel."

She grit her teeth against the pleasure he knew he was inspiring in her. " _No_. I'm with Hojo now."

"Do you even know that idiot's first name?" he whispered with a smirk, breathing the taunting words into her ear and deftly teasing the shell with the tip of his tongue.

"Everyone just calls him Hojo and it's too awkward to ask at this point. Now get off of me before I scream."

Inuyasha placed a kiss at the base of her throat and brought a hand up to play with her nipple again. "Does he touch you like I do? Can he _fuck_ you like I do? Will he love you like I do?"

"I just want to be normal," Kagome grunted, arching her back as he took a nipple into his mouth. "Normal…"

He snorted and pulled away from her with a wet pop. "You're better than normal. _We_ are better than normal." He reached down and began to undo his zipper when her eyes widened.

"No! Never again!" She shoved him hard and he let her. Removing himself from her, he flopped to her side and sighed.

"That's what I thought. I just want you to know that I'm always going to love you. I'll wait forever if you ask."

"I won't," she said with a glare, the hatred that had begun to fade the past few days now coming back in strides.

Inuyasha shrugged, trying to appear casual, not wanting a repeat of the pathetic, emasculating scene the morning after her rescue. "Then I won't. Like I said, I'll always love you, Kagome. But that doesn't mean I can't love anyone else, not when you don't want me. I'm going to work things out and make my marriage legitimate."

"You… and Mother."

"Yeah. If things go well, I might mark her, but I'm not sure at this point," he confessed.

"You and… Mother."

He looked at her and she looked at him and his heart broke into even tinier pieces. She was stubborn. She had Hojo. They would never be together again.

"Goodbye, Kagome."

"I—" she said loudly, then shook her head, her gaze becoming stony. "Okay."

Inuyasha left her room as silently as he had entered it, not looking back. He wondered if he had succeeded in getting her so worked up that she would touch herself, maybe even think of him. That had been the most he had hoped for. He really just wanted to let her know what he planned for his marriage so she would not be surprised. Later, as he lay in bed, he for the first time actually tried to move on from Kagome to Kikyo. It wouldn't be great, but it would be nice. He had loved Kikyo deeply, and perhaps they could recapture the feeling. He made up his mind. As a belated birthday present to her, he would officially take Kikyo as his once again. Her rescheduled party was in two weeks. They would consummate their marriage that evening and he would definitely not think of Kagome while they did so.

That night, for the first time since she had come into his life, he did not dream of his daughter.


	30. I'm Not Yours Anymore

***Song for the chapter: I'm Not Yours by Angus and Julia Stone***

Kikyo's belated birthday party came around quicker than he was ready for. Inuyasha had spent the brief amount of time from his resolution to the day of days by forcing himself to be comfortable with Kikyo's body again, admiring her hair and the beauty of her face and skin. She seemed much more girlish now, certainly in part due to his attentions, less the cold, matronly queen she had been ever since their fateful reunion. Her personality had softened to the degree it had been at the height of their relationship, when he had asked her to marry him. Eventually, fantasizing about her was no longer difficult. He had done it often enough years ago. It made it that much easier to ignore Kagome.

The girl was always with Hojo, and they were so lovey-dovey that it made him absolutely sick. Their scents were nearly indistinguishable, and she had gotten permission from Kikyo and his parents to sleep over at his house on occasion. Each time she left for his place, Inuyasha shut himself in his room, ignoring Kikyo even though he knew she was confused and hurt. It was just that he knew what they were doing together and he couldn't help but be unhappy. He still loved her. Images plagued him at night. The two kids were obviously attracted to each other. He remembered that first day, the day his relationship with Kagome had changed forever. It was because he found that idiot on top of her, and her just lying there and loving it. The boy was probably a virgin. Kagome would be the one to teach him, seduce him. She would ride him like she had Inuyasha and tell him how to please her just right, something he himself had known instinctually when it came to her. But that bastard was likely all too eager to learn, and with such a willing pupil, Kagome would certainly be happy.

He shook his head, ignoring his straining erection. Now, he always forced himself to think of Kikyo while he masturbated, even though it took longer. But it was Kagome that got him going, and Kagome he would think of as he finished. Inuyasha had tried to change that and failed, time and time again. He hoped it would change after tonight.

Fixing his ridiculous bow-tie as best he could, he glanced at himself once more in the mirror before deciding good was good enough. He was nervous, like he was taking a girl to the prom or something. He certainly looked like he was, that was for sure. Inuyasha had fished out an old tuxedo for the occasion. He and Kikyo were going to the most expensive restaurant he could find, some French place with a long name that he couldn't pronounce and had already forgotten. She had already had a small celebration earlier in the afternoon. A couple co-workers had come by to wish her well, dropping off gifts he could tell she didn't really like but appreciated because of their monetary value. Same old Kikyo.

"Are you ready?"

His wife stood in his open doorway, looking lovely and elegant in a dark blue evening gown with matching satin gloves. Inuyasha frowned. He had told her they were only going to dinner, but she was dressed as though they'd be attending a show as well. Nodding at her, he quickly fished out his phone and texted Myoga to somehow find two tickets to whatever theater show he thought Kikyo would like. Taking her hand in his, he silently led her out of his room and down the hall. Kagome was nowhere to be seen, not that he cared, he thought petulantly. He could hear her in her room, playing her stupid music, alone for once.

Before he could object, Kikyo tapped on her daughter's bedroom door with the side of her clutch. "Kagome, we're going out! Come and say good night."

Inuyasha could practically hear the reluctance in her footsteps, and it comforted him somewhat. The door opened slowly, showing Kagome clad only in some oversized varsity crew team shirt. He wanted to rip it off her and burn it and bury the ashes in a desert.

"Good night, Mother," she said mechanically, leaning in to kiss the air beside Kikyo's face. "Good night, Inuyasha."

Kagome turned to go back to her studies, but he couldn't help himself and grabbed her into a fierce hug, ignoring her and his wife's sharp intake of breath at his actions. Inhaling her scent until he separated the boy's from what was just hers, he laid a soft, secret kiss on the top of her head. It was their goodbye kiss, the very last one.

"Good night, Kagome," he said as he pulled away.

She looked at him with wide eyes and he could tell she finally understood what he had been trying to communicate. This was the end of them and the beginning of something both old and new. Inuyasha thought she'd tell him to wait or give him a sign of some sort, but then her expression hardened and she slammed the door in his face.

"Inuyasha, you really shouldn't be so physical with her," Kikyo chided gently. "She just survived a traumatic experience at the hands of a group of men, and she might be afraid of men now. You can't force her to act like before."

He frowned, not having thought of that. It would explain a lot. "But she seemed to find herself a boyfriend pretty quick after all that," he grumbled, now doubly hurt.

Kikyo laughed. "Yes, a _boy_ friend. Hojo is as young at heart as Kagome used to be before all this. He hardly acts his age and his innocence shows in his face. He's not at all threatening and that's just what Kagome needs right now." His wife patted his arm sympathetically as they went down the stairs. "Kagome was your first real friend, wasn't she? That's why you're so attached?"

He looked at Kikyo in surprise, wondering when she had become so observant. "Well… Yeah," he admitted. "You were my first love, but she…"

She made him happy.

"I understand." Kikyo obviously didn't want to dwell on the subject, her temporary generosity now exhausted.

Inuyasha wanted to laugh. She understood? She could never. It would break her heart and drive her mad, and he couldn't do that to her. Not anymore.

They arrived at the restaurant after what seemed like an eternity spent in traffic, him sitting silent and fuming while Kikyo tinkered with the radio, only stopping when she found a station playing some instrumental weird African tribal shit. Her taste in music was even worse than Kagome's. At least the songs Kagome liked were under half a freaking hour and weren't all pounding drums and screeching pipes. Once they entered the ostentatious establishment, he noted that the people, even the goddamn waiters, were snooty as hell and dressed better than he was. Inuyasha tried to make conversation and act like he was having fun, all the while secretly hating the small portions and the subdued feeling of the place. It was also way too dark. Being half-demon, he didn't need too much light to see, but he swore there was only like one lamp on in the entire place and that was just overdoing it. He liked to see his food as he ate. All the same, it was worth it to see Kikyo glow with happiness. Making her happy made him feel serene.

After the dinner, he followed the directions in Myoga's text and they wound up at some super artsy theater with ugly modern architecture that made him want to roll his eyes and punch the designer in the face. Say what you want about the so-called "Dark Ages", but they knew how to build a goddamn beautiful building. His wife was excited by the surprise and he smiled at her, knowing she had been hoping for this and would have been completely let down and upset had he not organized it. His assistant had managed to procure two second row seats for them, dead center. He didn't like being in the front row, and he hoped Kikyo wouldn't mind. It was some dumb musical about cats, of all things, and he was suddenly less than grateful to Myoga, interpreting his choice of show as an insult. Kikyo seemed riveted on the sight, though, and that was enough for him. Her hands were clasped and her lips were parted slightly, and she stayed so still it began to make him nervous, but then it was over and they were driving home and he _really_ began to feel nervous.

He said nothing the entire ride back, and she took the hint and stayed silent as well, unlike Kagome who by this time would have been rambling nervously and then begging him to tell her what was on his mind. He shook his head; now was not the time to think of her. His heart beat faster as he walked Kikyo to her room, what had become a nightly routine for them.

"Thank you for the lovely evening, Inuyasha. Good night," she said in a low voice before kissing him on the cheek.

He coughed, and then just decided to go for it. Inuyasha kissed his wife on the lips, for the first time in years. Willingly, anyway. Kikyo gasped in shock and he panicked and thrust his tongue in her mouth, hoping she wouldn't reject him when he had been practicing this in his mind for so long. Reaching behind her back, he boldly opened the door to her room and walked her inside, stopping only when she hit the bed and fell back on it.

"Inuyasha," she whispered, touching a hand to her lips.

Her eyes were glistening with tears and she was dearer to him in that moment than in any other previous, although not in the same way. She touched his heart, but did not excite it. Too many negative things had happened between them for him to ever love her with that blind fervor he once had. Now he knew her too well to ever want her in the same way. But still, he would love her. He had to.

Inuyasha nodded at her and she stripped out of her dress, leaving the gloves and her heels on, adding that extra dash of the erotic to the scene that he needed. He kissed her neck, then her breasts, seeing for the second time the frighteningly discolored small lump near her right nipple, then plunged into her, remembering she liked less foreplay and more roughness. Her gasp told him he was right, and an idea entered into his head. He would be loud and he would make her be loud, and then Kagome would know what she had done and regret it. He smirked and thrust into his wife as hard as he could, then stopped. It would be disrespectful to Kikyo if he made this all about Kagome. And it wouldn't help him stop feeling so much. So he covered her mouth and bit his own lip, bringing her to orgasm as he quickly as he could, panicking when he was nowhere near close and he just wanted it to be over. He closed his eyes and tried to forget about Kikyo, about Kagome, about himself, and just concentrated on the sensations. It worked after a while, during which time he made his wife come yet again, and he collapsed next to her.

It was nice.

It was pleasant.

It was lacking.

"I love you, Kikyo," he whispered into her ear, only realizing after he said it that he meant it. He didn't have to force himself to work on his feelings because he _did_ love Kikyo. He had likely never stopped. It had just lain dormant within him. It wasn't the obsessive, possessive, overwhelming love he felt for Kagome, that twisted combination of a father's love, a lover's passion, and his most animalistic urges, but it was a deep tenderness and he could not deny its existence.

Kikyo might not have his heart, but she had him.

"Oh, Inuyasha. I had given up all hope of you loving me again," she whispered, and she turned to cry in his arms. "Thank you, thank you. I love you so much."

Tipping her chin up, he kissed her on the lips and rolled out of bed.

"Where are you going?"

He sighed. He knew he was being heartless and he hated it. "I'm sorry, Kikyo. I love you and everything, but I'm just not ready to sleep all night with you. I still need a little space. Nothing's the matter, I just need to sleep alone."

She nodded, the look of hurt on her face making him sick. "It's alright, Inuyasha. Go ahead. I'll win you over yet."

He smiled at her in thanks and left the room for his own at the other end of the long hall. She shouldn't have had a problem with him leaving to sleep by himself. They had always done so before. She had told him again and again that she could not sleep when another person was in the same bed. When he passed by Kagome's room, Inuyasha almost stopped and entered. He got as far as his hand on the door knob before he shook his head and rushed to his own bed. What difference would rubbing it in her face make now? She was the one to reject him. He was done with being pathetic.

All the same, in the three hours it took him to fall into a restless, sweaty sleep, it was only those secret, stolen moments with Kagome that he could think about.


	31. You've Had Your Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Song for the chapter: I Want You by Elvis Costello*
> 
> Note: It's reached a point where I feel that I have to address this. I keep getting complaints about Inuyasha and Kagome's break up and various other details. Jfc, have you people never heard of conflict? The stories where the relationship is one smooth ride from start to finish (usually ending at the prom or their wedding) are absolute shit. I am not a teenager, and I am not writing for teenagers. Bitching about something not going your way in a story that's not yours is as futile as it is stupid. Yes, I like to hear your thoughts, and I don't want to be harsh, but telling me what I should and should not do is not acceptable.
> 
> That said, I'd like to thank you all for sticking with the story to this point and for your encouraging and critical reviews. This chapter has not been edited as I am short on time. Feel free to point out any errors.

Time flew by and then it was summer. Inuyasha and Kikyo were a real couple again, with her picking out his clothes and forcing him to attend boring parties and him picking out what underwear she wore and making her late for work every morning. He was content. The only problem was Kagome. Now that it was summer and school had let out, she was around all the time, with her stupid boyfriend more often than not. They never spoke unless it was some petty argument over how much she was out, how much she stayed in, the clothes she wore, and even over passing the salt when forced to sit down to a family dinner. Kikyo always took her side, and Inuyasha was left fuming by himself.

It wouldn't be so bad if the two teens weren't so obviously insanely happy with each other. Hojo showered her with gifts, some of them pretty weird, like a t-shirt with a giant picture of his face on it, a thirty-pound gummy snake, a jar of sand so that she could make sandcastles at home, and a fucking real live cat which Kagome named Buyo and promptly began to overfeed. His only consolation was that she never gave him anything back, but then the thought occurred to him that they were having sex and that was a more than acceptable gift. From then on, Inuyasha made a point of loudly stomping to Kikyo's room for sex every night, just to let Kagome know he wasn't pining away for her, and then silently slinking back into his own room for sleep.

Then came August, and if he wasn't already stressing out enough from the unbearable heat, Kagome's sweet sixteen was approaching. She got Kikyo's permission to have a huge bash at home and she had invited the entire school. She had apparently become quite popular since the whole kidnapping incident. Kikyo had insisted that the two of them should stay and monitor activities in case the kids managed to sneak in alcohol and end up burning the house down. He reluctantly agreed after she explained that some of the kids would probably end up working with or for him in the future and it was best to intimidate them a little now rather than later.

And that was how he wound up in a stuffy house full of sweaty teenagers bumping and grinding to some Miley Cyrus song that made him wish time travel was possible so he could convince her parents to terminate the pregnancy. The song finally ended, only to have its place taken by the eye-roll inducing stylings of Kesha. He verbally excused himself even though no one was paying attention to him and went outside, watching the party through the window.

Kagome was the belle of the ball, and rightly so. Even if it had not been her own party, people still would have congregated around her. She was laughing and dancing and looking so beautiful that his heart ached. The dress was white with lace and ribbons, making her look like a bride. It was long and sleeveless and her bare shoulders begged for sweet kisses. With her dark hair up in a complicated-looking bun and make-up skillfully applied by her hive-mind slave trio, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Everyone wanted to talk to her and only her, but she brushed them off and stuck with her lame boyfriend, who looked as captivated by her as Inuyasha felt.

They sat, stood, and danced together all night, whispering back and forth and giggling and exchanging small kisses. At one point, Inuyasha just couldn't take it anymore and smashed his flute of Martinelli under his foot, stomping on it until he felt marginally better. He had thought Kikyo would help him forget. He had planned on marking her if she survived the winter. But how could he when, try as he might, all he could think of was Kagome? And she had changed, too. She was acting like a little Kikyo and it made him sick. One Kikyo was fine, but two? No. They were spending a lot of time together, going off on mother-daughter trips to the mall and stuff. At first, he had been amazed at the change in Kikyo and glad that Kagome finally had the chance to experience what a real mother was like. But then, whether subconsciously or not, Kagome became more and more materialistic and haughty, the coldness she tried to imitate ending up coming out like rudeness. It was unbelievable and he just wanted everything to go back to the way it was. Maybe not exactly, since their situation was never ideal, but he wanted his sweet little girl back.

Inuyasha looked back in the window to see Kagome finally getting up from where she had been seated on Hojo's lap for the past twenty or more minutes. She gave him a very wet-looking kiss and sauntered off, swinging her hips. A path cleared for her, and where it didn't she just lightly shoved people out of her way. He wouldn't be surprised if they thanked her for having deigned to touch them. A plan forming in his mind, he checked to see that his wife was still animatedly talking to one of the caterers and slipped back inside.

"Hojo, there you are!" he boomed, sneaking up behind the boy and clapping him on the back. The teen flinched and turned around.

"Oh, M-Mr. Taisho, h-h-how—"

"Good to see you, too," Inuyasha lied, wondering at the failure of natural selection in front of him. "I was hoping we could have a little man-to-man chat."

Hojo was surprised and terrified, as he should be, since Inuyasha had never been anything but rude to him. "O-oh, well…"

"Perfect! Right this way."

Inuyasha led him down the hall, making small talk all the while, and right when Hojo began to relax the littlest bit, he shoved him in a closet and locked the door, wondering if it would be too much to stand there and cackle like an old-timey villain. He didn't know what purpose a closet with an outside lock served, but he was damned glad he had it. Whistling, he jogged in the direction he had seen Kagome go, up the stairs and to her bathroom. Picking the lock with his claw, he checked if the coast was clear and then hurried inside, shutting the door behind him and locking it.

"What are you doing?!" Kagome shrieked, looking at him in the mirror. She had obviously been in the middle of fixing her hair. Part of the bun was down and a lock of hair fell past her shoulder. He eyed her hungrily before the rage came back and he glared.

"What am I doing? What the fuck do you think _you're_ doing? You're acting like a spoiled brat."

He shoved her shoulder more roughly than he intended and she fell backwards, grabbing the open shower door but falling into the dry tub anyway, her knees hanging over the side in the most undignified manner. She looked delicious.

"A goddamn spoiled brat," he said hoarsely.

Leaning over her, he turned the shower on, the cold water blasting her and making her yelp. Inuyasha could see her nipples hardening through the now see-through dress. He turned off the shower, everything suddenly feeling sluggish and dream-like. He yanked down the tight bodice of Kagome's dress, hearing it rip. He no longer cared about her reaction, he just wanted to taste her. The one loose, wet tendril of black hair snaked its way down her shoulder and chest and curled its way around a nipple. Breathing heavily through his nose, he took the cold, stiff nipple into his mouth, warming it up and playing with it with his tongue, using the lock of hair to tease it, the combined taste and texture driving him wild. Instead of immediately trying to push him off, like he expected, he heard her moan. She placed a hand on the back of his head and grabbed his hair, pulling him up and kissing him. Kagome seemed just as wildly lustful as he was, and he scrambled into the tub. Somehow, she ended up on top of him with both his hands on her breasts, pinching and pulling and rubbing. Grinding into him, her darkened eyes told him that she wanted to go further, and he shredded the dress off of her, nicking her in a few places in the process. She didn't seem to notice, so he stopped caring and let her take his cock out of his pants and lower herself onto him. She bounced on him, her breasts doing the same, and he thrust up as best he could, one hand holding the side of the tub so as not to slip around and the other squeezing Kagome's plump ass. Her breasts and bottom had become a bit larger in the time they'd been apart, her torso longer and stomach smaller, more toned. She had lost that bit of adorable plumpness and now looked completely like a woman. His perusal of her was interrupted by her orgasm and then again by his.

Kagome collapsed onto his chest, breathing hard and fast, not separating from him. "You ruined my dress," she gasped.

"I'll buy you another one," he said with a small smile, feeling confident enough to kiss her on the lips. "You… You wanted to do this, right, Kagome?"

She laughed and lightly slapped his arm. "Inuyasha, I came so hard my stomach hurts. And I was the one riding you, or did you forget already?"

He laughed and lay there, playing with her wet hair, completely sated for the first time in months.

"Inuyasha," she whispered after a few minutes, "I want you back."

His hand stilled, as did his heart. That had been all he wanted to hear for months. But what about Kikyo? He couldn't just abandon her after everything. Sex meant certain things in a marriage. It was a physical promise that she was the only one. And she had been, for a while, anyway.

"Do… Do you not want me?" she asked quaveringly.

"No, I do," he reassured her quickly. "I just feel so fucking easy."

She laughed in relief and kissed his chin. "I love you, Inuyasha. Forever."

"I love you, too."

Kagome kissed a line down his throat and then to his chest, her tongue darting out and flicking his nipples the way she had made him like.

"Round two already? What, your boyfriend can't satisfy you?" he joked, still jealous but feeling triumphant.

She stopped her ministrations and turned her face up to look at him, all serious. "Inuyasha, Hojo and I haven't done anything but kiss. The furthest we ever got was that first time when you stopped us."

His eyes went wide and he choked on his own gasp. This entire time, he had thought that they were physically intimate. That had been one of the main motivations for him being with Kikyo. Now that he thought about it, Kagome had been pretty tight. Of course they hadn't been together. They only smelled like each other because of those weird gifts and the fact that he was always making her wear his clothes. It brought a smile to his face.

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that," he said truthfully, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing gently.

Earnestly, she looked into his eyes. "You were just pretending too, right? You and Mother never did _that,_ right?"

She looked so worried and hopeful that he just kissed her and said, "No, Kagome, you're the only one for me. My greatest love."

At least that last part was true.

Her smile was so big and sunny that his guilt faded. She began to kiss his chest again, rubbing her lower anatomy against his.

"I want thing to be the way they were," she said in between kisses and licks. "But I think we were too obvious. We would have been caught. I'm going to keep Hojo around as cover. Plus, Mother likes him."

Inuyasha scowled. He had hoped that idiot was out of their lives for good. "Do we have to? We could just be more careful."

"We're going to be more careful _and_ have cover. You keep up appearances with Mother and I'll do the same with Hojo. They're happy and we're happy."

He stroked her cheek, wondering if she was really clever or really devious. "I won't be truly happy until we completely belong to each other. Will you still be my mate?"

"If you want me to be."

"I do," he assured her, punctuating it with a kiss. "I just want to know. _Why_?"

Kagome immediately burrowed her face into his chest to avoid making eye contact with him, knowing exactly what he was talking about. He could feel her eyelashes flutter against his skin and her tears ran down his ribs and into the tub.

"I'm so sorry. I just couldn't tell you. It hurt too, too much."

His arms tightened around her. "What did they do to you?"

After a deep shuddering breath, she said, "They told me about you."

He froze. Did she know what he knew?

"They showed me pictures and even a few paintings," she continued in a mournful tone. "There were so many women, Inuyasha. And all of them… they were all pretty like Mother."

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"They showed me all these women you had been with. All the ones they knew about. They said it was only a fraction of the true amount."

Inuyasha felt the blood drain from his face. Who knew that much about his past relationships and why would they be cruel enough to show Kagome?

"So _many_ of them. And then they took me out and showed me their graves, the local ones, anyway. Just those would have been enough to fill their own cemetery. And the dates! I know how old you are, but it never hit me until I saw the dates. One-hundred, two-hundred, even three-hundred years old." She began to cry again, and he wasn't sure how to comfort her so he did nothing. "And they brought in these women to talk to me. They were all little old ladies, some in wheelchairs and walkers, and they told me about how bad you are. How you seduced them when they were young and then threw them away like nothing. How you had a group of men threaten them if they said anything about your relationships to anyone. And then they showed me pictures from when they were young and they were all like Mother," she sobbed, quickly becoming hysterical.

He wished he could kill those bastards again. It was true that he had a type. Once he found something he liked, he stuck with it. It was just the way he was. He liked tall, leggy, brunette human women who were around his apparent age. Although Kagome looked considerably like Kikyo, the archetype of his kind of woman, she did not possess the body type he had always preferred and she was about five years younger than his usual choices. Kagome was the only one who didn't fit the mould.

She sniffed and continued, calming herself. "And you were married before, Inuyasha. How could you not have told me? So many times."

Now he was impressed with the Band of Seven. It must have taken a lot of money and time and research to come up with that information. It was true, he had been married a total of thirty-one times, all over a century ago, before proper records were kept. Sometimes, that had been the only way to get a girl he had had his eye on, and he had been far more callous and unscrupulous in his younger days. Always, he left them after the first night or two. Inuyasha hadn't thought about any of them in years, and now he felt a shadow of guilt rise up in him and he apologized to their spirits. It was very likely that he had ruined their lives. With no virginity to offer a man and a reputation for having been tricked, what would they have done? Spent the rest of their lives alone, starved, become whores. There weren't so many options back then. He felt like crying with Kagome, even though their faces all blended together and he would have been fine had this girl in his arms remained unaware of his past.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't think back then."

"They told me about my father, too."

He stilled. This was it. Recalling their position, he realized that if she knew, then that meant she was just like him. She didn't care what anyone else said. Love was enough. "Are… Are you mad?" he asked, hesitant.

Kagome sighed. "No. I hate him, but I'm not mad. Onigumo was the one who ordered the entire thing. He knows about us and said I had to suffer and be punished before I could really be his daughter."

"Onigumo?!" No, anyone but Onigumo. Even him before Onigumo. Inuyasha knew it was sick, but he was angry at Onigumo for being Kagome's father instead of him. If he was, anyway. Inuyasha still had a chance. He had seen pictures of the man, and Kagome didn't look a thing like him. Kagome looked almost only like Kikyo, but he felt there was a vague resemblance between his human half and her. Having Kagome as all his had made him feel unbelievably complete. Losing that extra connection with her would be a blow to his inner warmth, his soul.

"Yeah, he and Mother were together for a long time before she left him. Why did she leave him because he was like you and then just went ahead and married you?" she asked curiously, not expecting an answer. Laying a cheek down on his chest, she continued. "They told me how you were just using me and that you'd treat me like all the others soon enough. That hurt me so badly that I thought I'd die. I wanted to die."

"I'm never going to let you go, Kagome," he said passionately, raising his voice. "I promised you'd be my mate and I meant it. I mean it."

"I tried to hate you all this time, but it just didn't stick. So when you came in here, I decided that even if it's all true, I can't not love you. Even," she took a shaky breath, "even if you will throw me away, I will continue to love you."

Inuyasha was both touched by her devotion in what she believed to be a temporary fling and angered by her lack of faith in him.

"You're not like the others," he said firmly, grasping her hand for emphasis. "I know I've been a bad guy, but I'll only be good to you."

"Why?" she scream-whispered. "Why am I different?"

He paused. He had felt how different she was to him immediately, how right she was. He knew now that though he could not smell her blood that came from him, he could feel it. It had made them feel close to each other and they had misinterpreted that family bond for something else, love, which was now true. But he couldn't tell her that. So he only told her part of the truth.

"Because we're soul mates. I'm it for you and you're it for me."

She scooted up and they kissed again, slow and sweet. Kagome hummed and broke away from him.

"How am I going to go back out to my party without clothes?"

Inuyasha hadn't thought of that. "Lock the door and I'll go to your room and grab another dress. I'll knock twice, pause, and then one time when I come back," he said, disentangling from her and hopping out of the tub.

Hand on the door knob, he glanced back at her, taking in her still wet hair and glowing skin glistening with cool sweat, wearing only that smile of pure joy he had not seen on her in so long. He knew his own grin was much the same. Blowing her a kiss like the lovesick idiot he was, he slipped out the door and made his way toward her room. His ears picked out the sound of Hojo yelling for help from that closet, something no one else could hear over the pounding music that never ceased. In Kagome's room, he rifled through her clothes until he came upon the yellow sundress she had worn on what he now considered their first date.

"So here's where you got to. What are you doing with that? Where's Kagome?" Kikyo asked distractedly, glancing at the dress he held in his hand.

"Uh, she spilled some Martinelli on her dress and was too embarrassed to come up here herself so she asked me."

Kikyo shook her head. "And that dress was so expensive, too. I knew she wasn't ready for such nice things," she mumbled. "I can give that to her, you go back downstairs and watch those children. They're doing body shots with Capri Sun."

"Er, that's okay. I think she'd be even more embarrassed if she knew you knew."

"I'm her Mother, that's ridiculous." A crash came from downstairs and Kikyo turned around in panic. "But alright, I guess it is her birthday after all. You give it to her and make sure she knows to be more careful with her clothing."

Relieved, he waited until she hurried down the stairs and then went back to the bathroom, quickly performing the agreed upon knock. Kagome opened the door and he decided not to tell her about Kikyo seeing him with the dress since it was the first time she had ever let him have her while her mother was in the house, and he certainly wanted to do that again. He helped her put on the dress, stroking her bare skin until she giggled and told him to stop. When she was done, they kissed, and she pulled away just as he was about to suggest they go for another round.

"We'll be careful this time, Kagome," he promised, referring to their relationship. "Really careful. This is going to work no matter what."

"I know," she smiled at him. "You come first in my life from now on and forever."

He nodded happily. "Same here. Alright, so I'll go out first and you wait a few minutes and then follow."

Immediately upon leaving the bathroom, he went right to the closet where he had placed Hojo, hoping no one had freed him. Opening the door, he grabbed the frightened boy by the collar and threw him against the wall.

"If I ever see you touching Kagome again, I will rip your fucking face off. There's your man-to-man talk, now get the fuck back to the party."

The poor boy stumbled away, tears on his face. Inuyasha laughed quietly to himself and followed, going directly to his wife's side and glaring at the teenagers in order to keep them in line. He spent the rest of the party pretending to listen to Kikyo while staring at Kagome, who was sitting next to a catatonic Hojo and blushing whenever she glanced his way. When it was all over, they left the staff to clean up and went upstairs, Kagome to her own room with an inviting glance at him. Inuyasha made plans to follow later and turned to go to his room when he felt a pair of thin arms wrap around his middle.

"Mmmm, those kids were so annoying. I can't believe I really used to be that age."

"Mmmhmm. Anyway, uh, I'm feeling pretty beat so I think I'm just gonna head to bed. See you tomorrow," he said in a rush, pulling away from Kikyo and giving her a lame salute as he walked to his room.

Kikyo's disappointment showed on her face and he felt bad, remembering that she had broken it off with Suikotsu in order to be with him. But he couldn't live a lie, especially when the woman he loved was just down the hall, waiting for him to sneak into her window and torture her with his lips and tongue and hands and other parts until the sun came up. He smirked to himself. Their reunion would be one to remember.


	32. Something Beautiful

***Song for the chapter: Monster by Meg Myers***

**Note: Only ten more chapters to go!**

Inuyasha nuzzled Kagome's hair in the early dawn light. She was usually an early riser, and he wanted to get a bit of playtime in before she started to ready herself for school. There was a slight bit of darkness under her eyes, courtesy of their reunion(s) the night before. He felt a little bad knowing she'd be sore as well as tired all day, but she was the one who insisted on having her party the day before she went back to school, so part of the blame rested on her shoulders as well. Last night had been an attempt at convincing her to stay in sick, but the girl had refused, claiming that it was the first day of her junior year and she didn't want to miss it and anger her mother.

"Ugh, Inuyasha, what time is it?" she whispered, turning on her side so he wouldn't be able to continue nibbling her throat.

He glanced out the window to see the position of the sun. "Looks like it's about six or so," he whispered back, running his hands up and down her thighs under the blanket.

She laughed quietly into her pillow. "I have a clock, use it."

"Well then, why ask me when you have such advanced technology at your disposal?"

"I don' wanna open my eyesss…"

She began to drift off again and he smirked, sliding under the covers and gently turning her on her back. Already dreaming, she didn't even notice. Inuyasha kissed her stomach, her thighs, her calves, her feet and toes. Already the last few months seemed like nothing more than a nightmare. Trailing his claws over her skin as he made his way back up, he shoved the end of her short cotton nightgown out of the way and ran his tongue over her lower lips, somewhat miffed when she let out a snore. Doubling his efforts, he used two fingers to spread her and unfurled his tongue inside the hot entrance. Finally, a choked gasp came from the girl and her thighs pressed against either side of his head.

"Mmmf! I-Inuyasha!"

He shushed her and continued working, suckling her clit and running a fang down one of her outer lips. He glanced up to see her hands pinching her breasts through the nightgown, under the pile of blankets and sheets she piled on herself nightly. The sight, coupled with her erotically heavy panting and little squeaks, drove him wild and he added two fingers, his tongue teasing her outside and then around her clitoris. Just as he was going to go for the big finish, he picked up on footsteps too late and the door swung open before he could move.

"Kagome!" his wife's voice rang out, more than a little cross. "Just because I allowed you to stay up late last night does not mean you can shirk your duties today. Make yourself presentable and go to school."

Still and terrified, he lay on his stomach between Kagome's legs, for once thankful for the girl's obsession with fluffy blankets and stuffed animals and multiple pillows. One more lump wouldn't be something noticeable. All the same, he stopped breathing entirely, unconsciously pressing himself into the mattress and gripping Kagome's bottom tighter, causing the girl to squirm.

"Oh, uh, yes, s-sorry, Mother. I-I'll be right up."

Kikyo left the room without another word and Kagome fell back to the bed with a sigh of relief. Inuyasha waited until he heard Kikyo go down the stairs, and only then did he breathe again. Nervously, he caressed Kagome's hips, wondering if she would ever again let him touch her while Kikyo was home. His fears vanished when she wiggled in his grasp and reached down to give one of his ears a teasing yank.

"You heard her, Inuyasha, I've got to hurry. What are you waiting for?"

Snorting a laugh, he dove back in, one of his arms leaving her hips to play with her breasts, switching from one to another as he tongued her tight passage. After just a minute, Kagome grunted her satisfaction into her pillow and scooted down to where he was beneath the blankets, pulling him into a heated kiss.

"Boy, it's stuffy down here!" she gasped.

"You get used to it." Grinning widely, he caressed her bottom, giving her a small slap. "You better get going."

She exaggerated a pout and threw her arms around him. "But what about you? I still owe you one. I could skip breakfast and just…" she trailed off, her fingers teasing and tickling his skin.

As appealing as the offer was, he shook his head. "Let's not tempt fate, angel."

She sighed in disappointment. "Fine."

"Hey!" he exclaimed in excitement. "I could take you to school and we could fool around in the parking lot like old times."

Kagome bit her lip and looked away. "I want to, it's just that Hojo picks me up now and if I were to abruptly go back to the way things were before, it'd seem suspicious."

"Ah." The old bitterness was back and had made its way into his voice. Inuyasha hated that he felt this way when Kagome was giving it her all and taking on the role of the sane, responsible one, but he couldn't help but want more.

She rubbed his arm consolingly. "I'm all yours, Inuyasha. All yours. I love you so much that I can't breathe when I think about it. Remember that and trust me."

He smiled at her in apology and gave her a quick, chaste kiss. "Same here. Now hurry up and leave so you can come back."

Laughing, she rolled out of bed and he jumped out her window, running on the grass still wet with dew until he came to his own. With a great leap, he was suddenly in his room. Opening his closet, he decided that today he was actually going to go to work dressed for work. Pulling out a suit that hadn't seen the light of day since before Kagome was born, he shook out the dust and hoped moths hadn't eaten holes in it.

Today was going to be good.

**O/\o/\O**

When Inuyasha arrived home after a long day of not doing anything but staring at one or more of the four walls of his office and ignoring Myoga's joyful rants about Tetsusaiga's increased productivity, Kikyo was in her room video chatting with several of her executives and Kagome was on the couch, appearing as though she was doing homework when he could tell she had just been doodling and waiting for him. It warmed his heart and he greeted her with a kiss, making a mental note to keep an ear out so they would have no repeats of earlier that day. Getting caught and getting away with it was thrilling, but when it was actually happening it was completely terrifying and it would be prudent of him to stay alert. She sighed into his mouth and they parted, still embracing.

"Come on, I wanna show you something," he said with a smile, taking her by the hand. Inuyasha could barely contain his excitement. Walking away from the living room, they arrived in a little used back room, the purpose of which he had long forgotten. He supposed he originally intended it to be a guest room, but he hadn't had a single guest yet so it was just bare and dusty. Opening the room's closet, he ignored Kagome's confused look and bent down, prying up a square of the floor.

"The basement," he explained, gesturing to the darkness that was most likely brimming with cobwebs.

"We have a basement?" the girl murmured, glancing from him and back to the square black hole again.

Inuyasha nodded and began their descent, making sure to go in front of Kagome in case she tripped or there were rodents or something. Once they reached the bottom, going slowly and carefully the entire way for her benefit, he ran his hand along the wall, searching for the light switch. Finding it after a few fumblings and curses, he prayed for it to work and flipped it, bathing the room in a fluorescent glow.

"Wow!" Kagome gasped, and he moved her in front of him, hugging her from behind, a proud smile on his face. She looked around with wide eyes, taking in the new sight that had been just below everyone's feet the entire time.

"Yeah. I made myself a man cave about ten years back. Never really used it."

"Why not?"

Inuyasha shrugged, embarrassed. "Never had anyone to play with," he muttered, gesturing to the pool and foosball tables, old arcade games, and various other grown-up toys.

Kagome smiled, the warmth of it melting away his sudden awkwardness. "Well, you have me now." She grabbed his hand and he squeezed in gratitude. "So," she continued, "did you bring me down here for a game of air hockey?"

He shook his head. "We can do that later. I want to show you something."

He led her over to the other side of the room and let go of her hand, grunting as he moved the heavy foosball table out of the way to reveal a small door, about half the height of a regular one. Taking a tiny, antique-looking brass key out of his shirt pocket, he unlocked the door and swung it open, crawling in a very undignified manner through the space, knowing Kagome would follow. The room was almost as large as his bedroom and had one small window near the ceiling about the size of a notebook. Kagome stared at the bare room, a quizzical expression on her face.

"Well? What do you think?" he asked, proud of his resourcefulness.

"Er, what do I think about what, exactly?"

"The room."

She paused. "I… think that it could use some decorating. You'll definitely have a hard time getting any of your toys in here, though."

"No, it's not gonna be another game room," he said, exasperated. "It's going to be _our_ room."

"What do you mean?"

"I was thinking while I was at work, and it came to me that this would be the perfect place for us to go to from now on when we want to be ourselves by ourselves." Kagome only looked at him dubiously, so he continued. "It's soundproof down here. She doesn't know about it. Only you and I will have the key," he said excitedly as he handed her a brass key identical to his own.

She looked at the object in her hand and then back at him. "I—Wow, I don't know what to say."

"Say yes," Inuyasha commanded, softening his harsh tone with a kiss to the cheek.

"Okay, then. I trust you."

They smiled at each other and he just basked in the moment, committing it to memory, the way her face lit up with its own light in the dim room.

"I'll get some furniture and set it up piece by piece. I'm gonna spend all my time on it, so it should be done by this weekend," he finished suggestively, reaching out to play with a lock of her hair that waved a bit more than the rest.

"Oh. Okay," she said again, and he wondered at her tone.

"Is something wrong, angel?"

"No, not at all!" she said quickly. "Well, it's mine and Hojo's two month anniversary this Saturday."

"Oh," he said stunned, withdrawing his hand from her hair.

"That doesn't mean I won't have time for you!" she said anxiously, clasping his hand. "I'll come home early, I promise."

Inuyasha nodded, trying and failing to appear unaffected as he stooped to make his way out the door. Feeling a tug on his pants leg, he stopped and craned his neck in order to get a good look at the girl kneeling behind him. Her eyes were soft and loving and he felt the burning pain in his throat ease the littlest bit.

"He's just a friend who doesn't know it, Inuyasha. I'm not going to do anything with him. I'm all yours, remember?" she said with an unsure smile.

"I know that," he grumbled irritably and left the room. He had planned on collecting this morning's debt in the room, but that was out the window now. Nothing went the way he wanted it to anymore. Inuyasha glanced sullenly back at Kagome, who bit her lip to keep the tears at bay as she walked up the stairs. He was sorry for hurting her, but if she was to be prancing about all over town with that drooling child, then as far as he was concerned she deserved a bit of emotional pain as well. Sighing once they were back in the closet, he kissed the top of her head and wordlessly went to his room, feeling weary.


	33. Simple Man

***Song for the Chapter: Sometimes (I Wish) by City and Colour***

"How do I look?" Kagome asked, giving a small twirl to show off her baby pink dress. The ring Inuyasha had given her was once again present on her finger, but that was little consolation.

"Too eager," he grumbled, not even glancing at her. It was bad enough knowing she was going to be spending most of the night with her boyfriend. The least she could do was not look so attractive while she was doing it. Would it kill her to wear sweatpants?

"You look like a young lady," Kikyo said. It was a gentle compliment that simply sounded like a regular observation and served no purpose.

Inuyasha snorted. For some reason he could not comprehend, his wife was involving herself in this. She had explained to him that Kagome's future was Shikon's future, but he still didn't think that Kikyo belonged there, encouraging her daughter like a real mother would. Kagome beamed at the both of them and grabbed her sweater from where it was flung across the back of a chair, ready to go.

"One moment!" Kikyo exclaimed, gliding over to her shuffling, impatient daughter. "No sweater. You're in a relationship, Kagome, you have no need to hide. Let him see your shoulders."

"B-but it's cold—"

"Would you rather suffer a chill or have him lose interest?" she said mercilessly, one eyebrow raised. She almost sounded like she was actually asking.

The girl's gray eyes were big and uncertain. "Um, I guess I—"

The doorbell rang, effectively ending all conversation. Inuyasha was at the door before the women could blink, anger and jealousy fueling his steps. He had heard the car and smelled its fumes before Kagome had even come downstairs. Part of him had been hoping the boy would get in an accident along the way, but fate was cruel to him yet again. Practically ripping open the door, Inuyasha glared at the tall, well-built young man he had warned time and time again to stay away from Kagome. This one just didn't learn.

Hojo coughed and self-consciously rustled the bouquet of flowers he had brought with him. "Uh, may I come in?"

Inuyasha sneered. "No."

At the same time, Kikyo and Kagome chimed, "Yes!"

He had been overruled. Defeated and certainly not pleased about it, he loudly retreated back to his chair and glared at them with his arms crossed. Whatever, he wouldn't make this easy for them.

"Have a seat, Hojo," Kikyo said, extending her arm toward the sofa.

The boy smiled at her and shyly took Kagome's hand, settling down with a number of alarming noises coming from the leather couch, sitting a mere half-inch away from his girlfriend. Now Inuyasha wished he had sat on the sofa so he could have maneuvered between them.

Kikyo smiled at the two of them and Inuyasha could just see the dollar signs floating in her eyes as she bustled off to the kitchen to make drinks. The kid was wealthy; he knew that because his wife knew that. Kikyo had done her research. An only child, he would inherit the entirety of his family's fortune upon the death of his father, and his mother was in the middle of transitioning from the regular legal field into politics. Given their family history, it certainly would not be surprising if they were sitting across from the son of the future president of the nation. He glared unabashedly at him and, to his surprise, the boy glared back, defiantly lacing his fingers with Kagome's.

"Now," Kikyo said, smoothly sliding a tray of cold drinks on the coffee table, "how did you meet my daughter? Tell me everything. I want to know just what it was about her that captivated you so thoroughly."

Inuyasha snorted. The merry housewife image she was trying to project grated on his nerves. Sometimes he wondered if she was sick at all. If everything was a lie, it certainly had to be some incredibly elaborate ruse to have fooled both his eyes and his nose.

Hojo glanced at Kagome and slid his arm around her, obviously more comfortable now that he knew he had support. "Well, I saw this scared little girl standing in the hall, clutching a print-out of the school grounds and I just had to help her," he said with a chuckle, smiling fondly down at the girl who was now beaming up at him. "It turns out she had geometry next and was in my class. I liked her from the start, and when I saw her struggling with the material, I offered to tutor her. She said yes and I gave her a book on brain food. Whatever happened to that, by the way?"

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, who smirked, and then back at Hojo. "Uh, I think maybe I loaned it to Ayumi. I don't remember."

"No worries."

They were plunged into silence again, everyone awkwardly sipping on their lemonade. Kikyo was staring at Kagome and widening her eyes, telling Kagome without words to start the conversation back up again and be a good little hostess. Tired of everyone concentrating on Hojo, Inuyasha leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and took a loud, slurping drink of his beverage.

"So, Hojo, how many girls did you get with before Kagome?"

His wife looked appalled at his choice of words, as did the boy. Kagome merely smiled prettily while using her eyes to promise him pain.

"Er, well, I never really had a girlfriend before."

Inuyasha nodded. "That explains a lot."

He could see the boy begin to sweat and was hard pressed not to openly laugh.

Hojo turned to Kagome and fiercely, desperately grabbed her hands. "K-K-Kagome, if I have ever fallen below your standards before, if I have ever disappointed you, please tell me and I will make it up to you. As long as we are honest with each other, nothing will stand in our way."

Uh-oh. Kagome's guilt was like a fifth presence in the room and he suddenly felt like complete shit.

"Oh, Hojo," she sighed, her eyes glittering. "Don't worry about anything silly like that. You're perfect."

The boy looked like he was going to cry in relief, but he just wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, apparently forgetting her parents were present.

"You're the perfect one, Kagome! I promise I will never ever make you anything less than happy. If you ever cry, I will consider that a personal failure and I won't rest until you're so happy again that you can't even remember what you were sad about."

Even Kikyo seemed touched by his words, and Inuyasha himself was suddenly feeling very small and very bad. How could a human boy with the intelligence of a mentally challenged cow make Kagome look at him like that? Like he was some kind of heavenly being? It suddenly occurred to him that that was probably how he himself looked at Kagome and he narrowed his eyes. Was she hiding something from him? Was _he_ the one being duped? His fears became facts in his mind when Hojo gently brushed a few strands of hair away from the corner of Kagome's mouth and kissed her lips.

She was aroused.

The sound of his claws puncturing the leather chair's arm rests broke their kiss and both teenagers looked at him, Hojo blushingly and Kagome in a daze. Kikyo appeared to have been studying him for a while, and the frown she wore told him he'd have to explain his way out of this now or answer a lot of awkward questions later.

"Please respect my _daughter_ , my wife, and myself by not ever doing that again."

"Y-yes, sir, I was wrong. Forgive me, but your comment made me think I was something less than she deserved and I couldn't help myself."

Inuyasha suddenly felt his age. This boy, for all his sweetly earnest words, was not good enough for her. He himself wasn't good enough for her, no matter how he wished it was not so. Now feeling both angry and depressed, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He was done with the interrogation.

"Hojo, please join us for dinner tomorrow evening. If my husband hasn't scared you off, that is. I know we'd all love to have you."

Hojo chuckled and nodded his assent. "Certainly, Mrs. Taisho. Well, we have to leave now if we're to make our reservation. Goodbye, Mrs. Taisho! Er, goodbye Mr. Taisho."

Kagome murmured her own goodbyes and allowed Hojo to nearly drag her out the door by the hand. He didn't blame the kid for wanting to run out of there. Kikyo waved at their departing car and Inuyasha wished he had any alcohol at all, even the human kind. It was a special night for the two high school students. How far would Kagome go to keep him? She was obviously fond of the boy, fonder of him than she had led Inuyasha to believe. Her arousal still lingered in his senses and the dark rage returned. Was he a game to her? Did she plan on stringing him along, laughing all the way and then dropping him like she had before? If it was about money, then she was poorly informed, because Inuyasha had more than the Hojo family and he could prove it. He thought about leaving a bank statement from just one of his accounts out to see if she'd suddenly decide that they no longer needed a "cover". Was she truly just another Kikyo? If she continued down this path, she'd be an even worse version. The empty glass of lemonade he had forgotten he held broke in his hand, splintered by his rage-induced muscle spasm.

His wife rushed over to him, startled and concerned by the sharp noise. Kikyo knelt by his shaking hand, which was already beginning to heal with shards of glass still inside.

"Oh, Inuyasha! Why are you being this way?! I will go and get the tweezers, keep the wound open," she commanded sternly.

He watched her hurry away and numbly began to slice at his palm with his claws. At least Kikyo was faithful. This time, anyway. Were all the Higurashi women whores? They probably didn't even have dinner reservations. They were in a hotel room somewhere, and she'd let him do whatever he wanted and then she'd take a shower and come back to him and think everything was going to be alright. He'd make sure he'd sniff her extra carefully this time. He'd confront her.

Kikyo came back with a wad of cotton balls, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and a pair of tweezers. Gently, she cradled his palm in hers and quickly, expertly removed the tiny shards of glass. She then quickly doused his hand in the alcohol and blotted away the blood with the cotton balls. He was healed in about thirty seconds.

"Thanks," he muttered sullenly.

His wife sighed and placed a hand on his knee. "She's growing up, Inuyasha. You can still be friends, but there's going to be a distance there. It's inevitable."

Inuyasha refused to look at her. Why was she always this understanding and helpful when he needed it most? Maybe she was right. It was wrong of him to hope. But it was even worse that Kagome had made him hope. The dark rage returned.

"You know," Kikyo started, eyes lighting up, "we'll have the house to ourselves for a good few hours." Her fingers stroked his thigh with a purpose and he hardened despite himself. He and Kikyo were compatible, there was no doubt about that. And if Kagome was out enjoying herself, should he not do the same?

His wife unzipped him and he pushed her back and away, making her fall to the floor with a loud, unladylike grunt. He couldn't do that to Kagome. Not now, not after they had both promised.

"So it's going to be one of those nights, then?" Kikyo said, her eyes sharpening. "I love it when you get rough with me. Come and show me how strong you are."

Her husky voice coupled with his rage and depression had him on her before she could take another breath. She wanted to see how strong he was? He'd show her. She got off on being dominated, and to be completely truthful, Inuyasha liked to dominate. It was how their relationship had survived so long after so many red flags for the both of them. He could never treat Kagome like this. The times he had tried had ended in her tears. He could never just thrust into her as hard as he could without a care for her own pleasure, whispering insults and dirty words. Kikyo _took_ pleasure from that. And so did he.

Maybe that was why he kept ending up with her instead of Kagome.

Inuyasha finished in Kikyo without letting her orgasm. He withdrew immediately, already slipping back into old routine. Kikyo bit her lip until she drew blood and looked pleadingly at him to finish her off. He shook his head and forced a sadistic grin, all part of the game. Tears running out of the corners of her eyes and down her temples, she began to touch herself. Spreading her legs open when she tried to close them in a false attempt at modesty, he kept them there and forced her to touch herself as he watched, using his semen as an extra lubricant. She came mere seconds later and licked the mess of her fingers, one by one. Zipping up his pants, he returned to his chair, kicking aside the broken glass in front of it.

"That was better than usual," she said breathlessly, clothed chest still heaving.

"Clean yourself up," he muttered, too disgusted with himself and his partner to even look at her.

She ignored him and stayed on the floor. "Inuyasha?"

He grunted, not in the mood for pillow talk.

"What if… I became pregnant?"

The word echoed in his ears and the shaking returned to his hands. Pregnant? With his child? _Again_? He had assumed she had gotten her tubes tied or at least took birth control after the horror story Kagome had told him. He knew she was still physically capable of having children, but he had never thought she'd want one with him. And then there was Kagome. Kagome had always wanted a sibling, but he doubted she'd want one with his blood and her mother's combined.

"Don't," he said, his voice going hard.

"But what if I was? Would you mark me?"

Inuyasha snorted. So that was what this was about. "I'd tell you to get rid of it," he said, purposefully not addressing her second question.

"You don't want a baby with me?" she asked, her usual seriousness returning. Her frown was almost childish.

"Is that so hard to believe?"

She crawled towards him. " _I_ want another baby. It's your responsibility as my husband to give me one."

"I don't have to do shit, Kikyo," he growled. If he had a baby with her, then Kagome would leave him for sure and he'd end up marking his wife just to avoid more loneliness. All thoughts of Kagome's tryst with Hojo had left his head, their public kiss temporarily forgotten.

"Are you still in love with someone else? Even now?"

Inuyasha knew it was cruel, but he couldn't stop himself. "Fuck, I never stopped."

His wife crumpled before him and he stepped over her to go wait by the door for Kagome.

"How can you be this way?" she whispered tremulously. "After everything? I've done so _much_ just because I love you. Why can't I have a little of your love in return?"

He thought it was best if he didn't answer her, so he didn't. Eventually, she went to her room, where she stayed the rest of the night.

**O/\o/\O**

Inuyasha waited for over half an hour, keeping his arms crossed and his posture intimidating, staying completely still as he did not know when they would be back. Deciding to wash the feel of Kikyo off of his skin, he did so, going to the kitchen sink and making sure his manhood was clean again. Then he went back to the door and waited another two hours. After a while, his neck ached and his leg began to fall asleep, but he didn't budge. If they walked in and caught him shaking out the pins and needles, it would completely ruin the effect and take a bite out of his pride.

Thankfully, Kagome returned sans Hojo just before eleven, brushing off his glare and growl and plopping down on the couch across from him. She groaned as she slid off her shoes, not used to high heels. The girl was silent and relaxed, and although he hadn't gotten even the faintest whiff of sex, he was still suspicious. Her arousal had been instantaneous and strong. What was it about the boy that had made her react like that? Should he ask?

"So," she sighed, leaning on the arm rest and bringing her legs up to rest on the cushions.

"So," Inuyasha echoed, waiting for her to make a move.

"You're not yelling at me."

He snorted. "Obviously not."

"Does that mean you're not jealous?" Her eyes were big and questioning.

"Obviously not," he said again, clenching his fists. If she saw through him so easily, he'd just end up being manipulated like her goddamn puppet.

"I was hoping you would be."

His mouth dropped open in consternation. " _Why_?"

She shrugged, the spaghetti strap of her dress falling down her left shoulder. "I like it when you get jealous. It makes me feel… all sorts of things." She shivered attractively and his mouth went dry.

Recovering himself, he stood and turned his back to her so that he could form words. "If you like me so much, why were you so turned on when that boy kissed you?"

Kagome laughed and he heard the fabric of her dress rustle, and then she was embracing him from behind. "Is that why you're like this? Again, Inuyasha, I like it when you're jealous. I was imagining how you'd be when I got back. All mad and tearing at my clothes, trying to claim me for yourself."

Her whispered words gave him goose bumps and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his neck. "Not here," he groaned softly, his eyes darting to the ground and realizing they stood on the very spot where he had taken Kikyo just earlier. "To the room."

The girl slipped away from him and was gone in a flash. Eagerly, he hurried after her. She didn't stumble once on the dark staircase and he mentally congratulated her. He flicked the lights on when she didn't find it and ran to push aside the game table, unlocking the door with practiced ease. She crawled between his legs to get inside and he laughed, swatting her bottom.

"Woah, how long did this take?" she asked, still on her knees.

"A couple days," he said proudly, standing at her side. The bed was only a full, and he had bought it himself at Ikea and put it together over the course of eight hours, with many breaks and bursts of frustration included. He was a little unsure as to whether or not the bed would hold the two of them as he had a few parts leftover and it rocked from side to side when he crawled on it, but there was no time to fix it now.

"Thank you," she murmured, kissing his thigh through his jeans. "I like the bedspread."

"It reminded me of you," he admitted with a slight blush, feeling somehow effeminate. The blanket was a light gray and embroidered with little silver and white rosebuds.

"Thank you," she said again, rising to her feet. Her lips touched his face softly, over and over, everywhere. "I love you so much."

The guilt came, even though he tried to rationalize his actions and forget. He had washed himself after what he had done with Kikyo, but that wouldn't be enough. He could never make it up to her. Why did she have to make things so confusing all the time? He frowned as Kagome kissed the corner of his mouth. It was so sweet and she was trying so hard. He should just be happy, forget it all, and make sure she'd never find out, the latter being his number one priority.

Kagome went to the bed and lay down on it, miraculously not making it creak or rock. Slowly, she slipped out of her dress, looking at him like he was crazy for not being on her already. Telling himself that not touching her would tip her off that something was wrong, he crawled over her, allowing her to remove his shirt while he unzipped his pants with one hand, kicking them off to the side. The mood suddenly seemed very serious and he knew she felt it too. He wanted to make it up to her, have her screaming and writhing and pleading while he tortured her with his mouth. But that just felt so wrong. And he didn't deserve the pleasure of seeing her like that.

She stroked him and he kissed her forehead, an apology and a promise that she was ignorant of. They moved slow, and her climax was gentle, the look on her face pleased but troubled. He had tried to lose himself in her and failed. That had never happened before. She lay on his chest, staring at him as he stared at the ceiling, and, to his alarm, burst into tears.

"I'm sorry," she whispered before he had even said anything. "I just love you so much and I hate that we can't really be together normally. But I'm willing to wait."

He sneered and sat up, not understanding his own anger. "If you were willing to wait then you'd just ditch your stupid boyfriend."

"You know I can't do that!"

"Are you in love with him?"

Finally, he had said it. He had been afraid of something like that from the start. After all, why wouldn't she love the boy? He was rich, attractive, athletic, book smart, devoted to her, young, and human. And what did Inuyasha have? Money, anger issues, and a wife who happened to be her mother.

Kagome screamed in frustration and slapped his thigh. "God, don't be an idiot!" Drying her eyes with the back of her hands, she sniffled and attempted to regain her composure. "Inuyasha, I love Mother but I am sleeping with you because I love you so much more, more than anything and anyone, even myself. Do you know what it's like for me to talk to her, look at her, be in the same room with her and act like everything's okay? Sometimes…" She took a big, shuddering breath and a few more tears escaped. "Sometimes I get so jealous that I don't even recognize myself and I wish that she would just _die_. Do you know what it's like to be such a terrible person?"

Her big gray eyes were full of misery she had never before allowed him to see. Her face, neck, and chest were bathed in her tears and he felt like the worst being in existence. Taking her in his arms, he stroked his claws up and down her back.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry. I never… I'm an ass."

Kagome removed herself from his arms and grabbed her dress from where it lay on the floor. Dressing with her back to him, she stayed silent. Her shoulders were high and tense and he was afraid to touch her.

"Just… Don't give up on me. Please, angel."

She said nothing and left the room, leaving him alone and naked with no company save for the furniture and his discarded clothes.

Why was everything always so wrong?


	34. It's Not Love, But It's Still a Feeling

***Song for the chapter: Because It's Not Love (But It's Still a Feeling) by The Pipettes***

**Note: It's like 10:30 PM on Friday where I am as I'm writing this, so I'm sorry a lot of you won't read this on Friday where you are. I'm helping my Mom empty out her old house, and there's no electricity or water or air conditioning or internet or ANYTHING. D= She promised she'd have me back home at 4 in the afternoon, then 4 turned into 6, then that turned into 8, and we only left the house sometime after 9 PM. Just so you know, I posted this before showering. You're welcome.**

"Please, please, _pleasepleaseplease_ PLEASE be nice, Inuyasha."

Said half-demon crossed his arms and harrumphed, turning his head away from her. Kagome's eyes were doing that thing where they got all shiny and big and pleading, and if he stared for too long, she'd get what she wanted, and that was not going to happen this time. The girl sighed and straightened the collar of his shirt, brushing off imaginary dust with the tips of her pale fingers.

"Whatever you do, don't start a fight. I need this night to go well."

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't even want to eat with that idiot. You're the one who made me dress up and come down and now you want to change my personality? No."

"It's just one dinner!" Kagome begged, placing one hand on either side of his face and forcing him to look at her. "Please. Mother was the one who invited him. Just please make it go smoothly."

He sighed. "I can't stand him. I can't stand knowing that he thinks you're his."

She nodded in understanding and opened her mouth to say something when they heard the tell-tale clickety-clack of Kikyo's high heels coming down the stairs. Giving him a quick kiss before scurrying away, she walked to the kitchen to take her spiral glazed ham out of the oven. Kagome had spent the entire day cooking the meat and side dishes, something that was almost as bad as seeing her kiss her stupid boyfriend. She never cooked like that for Inuyasha. True, he preferred quantity over quality and she knew that and always surpassed his expectations, but he would have liked an entire ham to himself once in a while.

His wife sidled up to him and put her arm through his. He let her, even though he hated when she would just act like nothing had happened and everything was normal. Hearing the car in the drive-way, Inuyasha growled and bounded to the door, not caring that Kikyo was looking at him like he was an animal. Truth be told, he felt like one. An intruder was approaching, an enemy, someone who wanted to take away what was rightfully his. If Kagome was not so attached to the boy, he would have handled him like he had handled countless other rivals in the old days: decapitation. Perhaps disembowelment. Definitely castration. Kagome deserved more effort.

He yanked open the door just as Hojo was getting ready to ring the bell with his shoulder. The boy was holding two bouquets, one of pink roses and baby's breath and one of pure white calla lilies. Inuyasha sneered and was about to comment on his unoriginality but then remembered he had also gotten Kagome roses. There just weren't so many choices when you want to wow a girl. Glaring at him determinedly, his chin stubbornly dimpled, the boy shouldered past him and into the living room. Not wanting to make a scene this early in the evening, Inuyasha let it go. After all, he had not only given Kagome roses, he had fucked her on them. Smiling, he studied the boy's interactions with Kikyo. Now that he knew he had someone gunning for him, he was becoming bold, and that would be a problem.

"These are for you, Mrs. Taisho," Hojo said sweetly, his voice ringing with schoolboy clarity as he handed Kikyo the lilies.

"Why, how nice of you, Hojo!" Kikyo said, delighted. "Kagome is a lucky girl. Inuyasha hasn't gotten me flowers in over ten years."

Wisely, the boy chose not to comment on that and instead turned his attention to his girlfriend, who was just now entering the room.

"Kagome, please accept this gift of my heart."

Blushingly, she did so, holding the roses close to her face and sniffing them. "They're lovely, Hojo. Thank you." She turned to the adults and beckoned them with the bouquet. "The food's all ready and the table is set, so we should go eat while it's still hot."

Inuyasha glared at her, guessing correctly that she had hurried up the meal in order to spend as little time as possible on conversation. She was probably hoping he would be more amiable once he had food in him, but he was determined to at least make the boy profoundly uncomfortable.

The group traveled to the kitchen and sat in their places at the round table, Inuyasha making sure to sit right next to Hojo who was already next to Kikyo. Meanwhile, Kagome took out a glass vase he didn't even know they had and filled it with water, plunking the roses in. Arranging them to her liking, she smelled them again, the soft color of the flowers complimenting her face and making her skin glow entrancingly.

Inuyasha couldn't help himself. "I thought you prefer red roses, Kagome. Lots and lots of red ones." The girl pointedly avoided looking at him and turned as red as the flowers he had gotten her. He leaned back in his seat, somewhat satisfied. "I'm hungry now. You promised us food, so where is it?"

Her hands gripping the dish hard until her knuckles turned white, Kagome set the platter of ham down in the center of a table just a little more forceful than necessary. She followed it with a bowl of mashed potatoes, a basket of home-made yeast rolls, a bowl of peas and grilled onions, and a lidded gravy boat full of the thick substance. Placing the crystal butter dish in the center of the table along with the serving utensils, Kagome finally took her place at the only seat left, the one in between Inuyasha and her mother.

Salivating at the feast laid before him, Inuyasha dunked a serving spoon into the potatoes and piled them on his plate, followed by more than generous portions of each available dish. He poured gravy over it all and began to cram the food in his mouth indiscriminately. Soon, he realized that the only sounds that could be heard were his own rather rude smacking noises, so he stilled his movements and glanced around at the table's other occupants. Kagome was glaring at him, Hojo had his head bowed and his hands folded, and Kikyo was staring at the boy like he was tiny dog and she was a Beverly Hills socialite.

"Grace?" he sneered, careless of the gravy dribbling off his plate and onto the white lace table cloth. "People still do that?"

The boy kept his head bowed for a few more moments, then raised it and crossed himself, opening his eyes and looking at Inuyasha as though he were nothing more than a particularly troublesome child that had the audacity to not even be cute.

""This food is wonderful, Kagome!" the boy chirped, not even having touched it yet. "I wish I could have your cooking every day of my life."

Kikyo and Kagome laughed, the former laying a hand on his shoulder. "Keep up that behavior and you definitely might! You're a keeper, Hojo."

The teen laughed and spooned some peas into his mouth. "I certainly hope your daughter feels the same way, ma'am."

The girl said nothing, instead picking at the potatoes on her plate with a look of concentration. Inuyasha felt like reaching out and smacking the boy next to him. He was practically proposing!

"I certainly hope she has some sense," Inuyasha mumbled.

The fork fell from Hojo's hands with a clatter and he whipped around to face him, long repressed anger visible in his face, cheeks pink with frustration.

"Sir, I have been nothing but respectful and polite to you and your family, but I can no longer tolerate this treatment. What is your problem with me? Tell me so I can try and fix whatever it is."

Inuyasha glared at him, not liking being confronted in front of the women. "You wanna know my problem? You're annoying. You're ridiculous. You're a fucking _idiot_ and you are not good enough for Kagome."

Silence reigned at the table and all eyes were on him. Finally, the boy replied. "You have no say in what Kagome can or cannot do. You don't even know her! You're not her real father. Heck, you weren't even in her life until not even a year ago, and—"

Inuyasha was on his feet, holding Hojo by the throat with one hand. He squeezed, relishing in the look of pure shock and fear on the boy's face.

"How dare you," he growled, bringing their faces close enough so that the boy would breathe the air from his words. "How _dare_ you come into my house and try and tell me what to do." Inuyasha shook his prey, squeezing harder so the red of his face turned almost purple. He heard his wife screaming and brushed it aside. That didn't matter. Justice mattered. Punishment. The boy had had it coming for far too long. He should have done this the minute he saw the idiot on top of her all those months ago.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome's voice called out to him desperately and he felt her arms around his waist, her face and body pressed against his back. There was wetness: her tears were soaking through. He stopped squeezing but continued to hold him. He didn't want her to cry. "Please put Hojo down, Inuyasha. Please. I'm sorry. Please don't hurt him."

Dazedly, he did as she asked, her voice the only thing he could hear, her touch all that he could feel. Couldn't she see that he just wanted her safe? That the one who wasn't supposed to touch her had to be done away with in order to restore her honor? Shaking his head, he dismissed the archaic thoughts, forcing himself to step away from the gasping boy. Hojo was on his knees, his eyes watering and his throat wheezing. His hand was on his forehead and he laughed, the sound hoarse.

"I see how it is," he said, looking from Inuyasha to Kagome. "I see now."

He got up and stumbled out of the room.

"Hojo, wait!" screamed Kagome, her arms still around Inuyasha. She separated and darted after him.

Inuyasha moved to follow her but was stopped by his angry wife. Kikyo slapped him across the face, hissing in pain at the contact.

"You _bastard_ ," she hissed, her eyes filled with tears.

"Kikyo, I didn't…" he started, not sure how to explain what was now so obvious. How would someone tell their wife they were in a relationship with her daughter?

"I have never been so embarrassed in my life!" she shrieked.

"…What?"

"Hojo is a child of very important people, and as such he himself will become a very important person. We're lucky he's interested in Kagome. With someone like him in the family, Shikon would never fail."

Inuyasha couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did she not notice the intimate way he and Kagome had been pressed against each other, that she had been the only one to stop him from killing?

"Kikyo, you're a fucking idiot."

"If I'm an idiot, then there's no word for what you are," she said spitefully, stomping up the stairs to her room like an angry pre-teen.

He ran outside. Hojo was standing with one hand on his open car door and Kagome was holding the other, crying and apologizing. Spotting Inuyasha, the boy yanked his hand away in disgust.

"Don't even touch me you-you-you—" Hojo shook his head, and anger turned to tears. "How could you do this to me, Kagome? To your mother? I loved you!"

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, unsure of how to respond. He stood by her side and glared stonily at the boy. With what he knew, he might actually have to follow through and kill him, no matter how much pain it would cause Kagome. He was uncomfortable letting him live as it was.

Hojo gestured wildly between the two of them. "How could I not have seen it?! I should have known. With the way he acted around you, about you. The way you looked whenever you said his name. How? How could you?" His voice cracked at the end.

Kagome was full on sobbing now, taking large, gasping breaths. She flung herself at Hojo and threw her arms around him. The boy just stood there. Inuyasha growled and pulled Kagome back to him, holding her in a backwards embrace when she tried to struggle away. Giving up, she went slack and leaned back into him and he savored the warm contact, especially in front of the other teen.

"Hojo, I started to fall for Inuyasha before you and I even met. Every day is a day I fall deeper in love with him. I tried to make it work with you, and I do love you, just in a very different way. But I can't be who you want me to be," she said in a strained voice.

Hojo shook his head sadly, defeated. "I just wanted you to be you, Kagome." He looked at her with a small smile, new tears glistening in his eyes. "But I guess the person you really are belongs to someone else. I have to say this, though. I am incredibly disappointed in you as a friend. You were the last person I'd expect something like this from."

"We don't give a shit what you think, dirt bag. Now get the fuck off my property," Inuyasha growled, no longer able to keep himself from getting involved. The way Kagome had slumped in his arms when he had told her he was disappointed in her had hurt him down to his very soul.

Hojo just sighed. "Take good care of her."

"Hojo, wait!"

The boy stopped halfway from closing his car door. Inuyasha wondered why Kagome felt a need to delay the idiot's departure.

"You… You're not going to tell anyone, right?" Inuyasha couldn't see her face, but he knew she was doing that thing with her eyes. If Hojo was any kind of man at all, he'd be a puddle at her feet.

His face went hard, but he shook his head. "You're the one the truth needs to come from, not me. That responsibility is on your shoulders."

And then he drove off.

Kagome turned in his arms and cried into his chest, big hiccupping sobs racking her body and making him hold her tighter, afraid she was hurting herself somehow. Gently, he rocked her back and forth, the movement feeling natural. He may have missed out on most of her life, but he could be her father now. He could be her everything.

"Did he leave?"

Inuyasha went still, as did Kagome. How had Kikyo come outside without him hearing?

He turned to face her, keeping Kagome's face pressed into his chest since she still needed comfort. Kikyo's face was concerned, but not for her daughter. She was squinting into the darkness of the driveway, looking for some sign of Hojo.

"Do you think he'll sue?" she whispered, dread showing on her face.

He rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Kikyo."

He walked past his wife's stunned form, his arm around Kagome, who was shaking lightly. Silently, he took her to her room, his concern magnifying when she walked in a daze, her swollen eyes staring at nothing. He wanted to kiss her and make her feel better, but Kikyo had followed him and was standing in the doorway. Gently, he sat Kagome down on her bed, trying his utmost to treat her like the delicate being she was in order to make up for what he had done.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, ghosting a kiss across her forehead.

"No you're not," she sighed wearily, a few more tears escaping.

He kissed her forehead again and left, closing her door softly behind him. There was nothing more he could do with Kikyo standing right there, witnessing everything. Hardly was his hand off the doorknob than his wife started in on him.

"How dare you tell me to shut up!" she hissed, apparently trying to keep her voice down.

"Shut up, Kikyo," he said again. It was fun to say, and he couldn't believe he hadn't done it more often.

"This is not the way a man treats the woman he loves!"

Inuyasha laughed. "You're damn fucking right." Kikyo's mouth dropped open in shock and he continued. "You're always so fucking concerned about yourself, and that's okay up to a point, but your daughter is _suffering_ , Kikyo. If you won't pay attention to her, then I will."

Kikyo's eyes narrowed and the corners of her mouth turned down. "I don't like you spending so much time with Kagome."

So she _had_ noticed something was off. "I don't give a fuck, Kikyo, so fuck off. Just because you look like you could be my mother doesn't mean you can act like you are."

The tears were instant and Kikyo gasped, turning and fleeing to her room with the back of her hand pressed to her mouth, keeping in her sobs. Inuyasha retreated to his room and slammed the door. He wanted to go and be with Kagome, but how could he be in her presence when he felt like the world's biggest failure?


	35. Too True to Be Good

***Song for the Chapter: Too True to Be Good by the Dum Dum Girls***

The next morning, Kikyo refused to come out of her room, even when he knocked tentatively, so unlike his usual way, not saying anything. Kagome refused to even look at him, even though he was in her room with the door open and laying on the bed, something she would have completely freaked out about and yelled at him for just yesterday due to the fact that her mother was around. She brushed her hair in quick strokes, angrily yanking on it and not making eye contact with him in the mirror.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"What are you so mad about, anyway?" he asked, startled when she let out a scream of frustration and threw the hairbrush at his head.

"I know that you never really had friends, Inuyasha, and I get that, I really do. But I thought that even you could understand how important they are to a person! Hojo was my first friend," she explained with restraint, clenching her fists.

Inuyasha matched her glare. "I thought I was your first friend. Your _best_ friend."

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

Sitting up, he stretched and popped his neck. "Since that boy won't be picking you up anymore, I should take you."

Kagome laughed miserably and threw her hands up in exasperation. "Fine! You know what, if you're so desperate to get caught, let's do it. Who cares anymore."

Inuyasha didn't like her tone, but she was already running out of the room and down the stairs, so he just groaned and followed her. He was not in the mood for any of her whining when he was still feeling like shit for what he had said to Kikyo. At least one problem was out of his way. Now that Kagome didn't have that idiot hanging around her all the time, she'd be at home more often and the guilt wouldn't weigh down her shoulders. She was getting more irritable every day since they had gotten back together, and he couldn't understand it. Didn't she love him?

When he got outside, Kagome was seated in the passenger seat, angrily tapping her fingers on her knee. Smiling, he sat beside her. He'd make sure she wouldn't dwell too long on the night before. Eventually, she'd even forget the boy's name and Inuyasha would be the only name that held any meaning for her.

The ride was short, with him speeding so they could get there early. Arriving twenty minutes before the bell, he stopped Kagome as she tried to leave and pulled her into his lap, giving her a deep, heated kiss. After a few seconds, she stopped trying to push him away and clung to his shoulders, making those little sounds he loved so very much. An idea formed in his head and he quickly pulled a lever and the back of the seat went down, surprising Kagome and making her squeak. Now laying almost flat, Inuyasha caressed her ass and grabbed it, pulling her from his lap and up his chest until she was kneeling somewhat uncomfortably over his face.

"No!" Kagome pleaded, trying to squirm away unsuccessfully.

Inuyasha had been trying to get her into this position for quite a while, but she always blushed, embarrassed, and told him it was weird. He suspected she was afraid of his fangs, although why only in this position he didn't know. If that was the case, it didn't bother him, since it would finally be a sign of her showing some sense when it came to something dangerous. Spanking her once, hard, she obeyed and stopped squirming, groaning a bit in a sort of dread as he pushed the crotch of her panties aside and brought her down on him.

"Oh god, Inuyasha, why? You can't possibly enjoy this," she moaned, his hands moving her hips in small circles as he darted his tongue inside her.

Raising her so he could speak, he said hoarsely, "Play with your tits, Kagome. I just want to see you feel good."

She hesitated, but when he gently kissed her clit, she let out a cry and nearly tore the front of her school blouse open in her haste, pulling down the cups of her bra and pinching her nipples until they were as red as cherries. The view from below was exquisite, and Inuyasha moaned into her. Soon, he was just caressing her globes and she was riding his face all on her own, panting and gasping as they worked together to make her cum. When he was so hard he couldn't take it anymore, he gave one hard lick and she wailed her release, holding him by the hair and keeping him close to her, so close he couldn't breathe for a time. When she calmed down, he pulled her back into his lap and she licked her essence from his face, lazily flicking her tongue against his as he did the same. When his face was shining more with saliva than the evidence of her orgasm, she turned their tongue dance into a hard kiss and ground herself into him. The crotch of her panties was soaked through and he could feel her moistness on his pants as her hard nipples poked into his chest.

"Ride me again," he commanded, and she nodded, happily freeing his erection from his pants and lowering herself right on it. He palmed her breasts in his hands and rolled her nipples and Kagome leaned down so he could take one in his mouth as he was dying to do. They were gentle at first, just rocking together as he contentedly suckled at her breasts, but the pressure built up in both of them and soon Kagome sat straight up and began to bounce furiously, her brow furrowed in concentration and her cloud soft tits moving in tandem. Inuyasha wondered why this time felt so different from all the others. What had changed? Was she still mad?

With that thought in his mind, he grabbed her hips and prevented her from moving. He was suffering, but he could outlast her. She opened her eyes and glared at him angrily, trying to force movement, squeezing him with her inner muscles. He tried to keep his face from showing how absolutely crazy she was making him.

"Forgive me," he demanded.

He was not expecting the slap to his face and especially not his subsequent jolt in arousal.

" _Fuck you_!" she screamed, her eyes filling with angry tears. Inuyasha's mouth dropped open at her use of the f-word. She was genuinely angry, this wasn't any kind of sex game. Again, she tried to force her hips to move, and he responded by pinching her bottom sharply. It was certainly going to leave a bruise.

"Forgive me!" Now he was angry as well.

"You don't even know what you did wrong, do you?!" she said bitterly.

"All I know is that this doesn't feel right when you're mad. So get over yourself and forgive me," he repeated.

A few tears trekked down her cheeks and she let out a sob. "Alright, Inuyasha, fine. I can't fight you anymore. I have no one else but you."

He briefly wondered why she sounded so forlorn about the last part, but let it go. She began to move again and he let her. It still didn't feel right, and the tears that rapidly coursed down her cheeks confused him, but she was almost there and he felt like he was going to explode. She sped up and he raised a hand to grab at her breast, tweaking it just so and then she came hard around him and he shouted out his orgasm. Kagome collapsed down onto him and he held her, trailing his claws up and down her back.

"You're so immature," she murmured, her breath barely stirring his hair. "Why can't you just say sorry?"

"Didn't stop you from finishing," he grumbled back sleepily. "And I'm not sorry. I don't like to lie to you."

"Do you ever feel guilty?" she asked, raising herself so that they were eye to eye.

"'Bout what?"

"Fucking your step-daughter."

"Stop cursing," he said sharply.

"Then answer the question."

He rolled his eyes. "No. At the beginning, yeah, but not anymore. I only care what you think, what you feel. No one else matters. If they get hurt, if they get mad, that's their problem and I don't care."

Kagome sighed and looked away, one of the sides of her mouth quirking up in a smirk that reminded him so strongly of himself for a moment that he nearly mentioned it.

"I wish I could be like you."

"You're more like me than you think," he joked uneasily, his eyes roaming her face and naked body in search of more similarities.

"I'm ten minutes late," she complained, making no move to leave.

"Better absent than tardy," he said, laughing when she glared at him weakly.

"How am I going to clean up?"

"Don't. Stay here with me," he said softly, drifting off.

"You want to just stay in the school parking lot all day?" she asked, amused, yanking his ear so he'd wake up.

"Ow! And yeah. Or not. We could go anywhere. How about a hotel?"

She seemed to consider it, then slowly shook her head. "No, I have to go to school. We can't just lose sight of everything, Inuyasha. Appearing in public together, at a hotel no less, would ruin everything. I don't want to ruin your life."

He sighed, disappointed even though he had been expecting just that reaction. "Fine. Use your underwear and clean up then drop it in a bush or something. Or give it to me."

She laughed. He had told Kagome ages ago that he kept certain pairs of her underwear in plastic bags to sniff when he got lonely. "That is still so incredibly creepy. And do you expect me to just go commando all day? This skirt is super short."

The thought of Kagome walking around pantyless aroused him, but the thought of a sudden breeze exposing her to every male and arousing _them_ and perhaps embarrassing her made him angry. He was conflicted.

"How about we just run back to the house and you can change and stuff?"

"That'll take too much time!"

"You got a better idea?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Let's hurry, then."

They kissed and she abandoned his lap for the passenger seat. When they got to the house, there was a car he did not recognize in the driveway. Kagome noticed it too and looked at him questioningly. He shrugged in response.

"I'll go in and get you some fresh clothes. Be right back," he said, giving her a peck on the lips.

He heard Kikyo talking to a man before he went inside and he walked quickly, wondering if she had gotten back with Suikotsu. Instead, he was enraged to see Onigumo himself sitting in his own favorite chair in the living room, chatting pleasantly with his wife, who looked up at him triumphantly. He looked just as he had all those years ago, only his skin was pale and his eyes were red. He wore expensive clothing, had the same effeminate mannerisms which shockingly offset the aura of power that had only grown, and looked to be in his late thirties. Inuyasha stood in shock, gaping at the scene. He was startled out of his stupor when Onigumo raised a hand and chuckled.

"Wait, Inuyasha. I know you want to kill me where I stand, er, sit, but I was formally invited here by your lovely wife."

Inuyasha glared at Kikyo, her betrayal coming back full-force. It was even worse now, especially after what that bastard did to Kagome.

"Kikyo, what the fuck?!"

Onigumo continued as though he hadn't said anything, his voice flat and pleasant. "It's about time, too. I was doing all I could to lure you out, but you've been ignoring me. What exactly is it that's so interesting you can't spare even a second of your time for an old rival?" he asked with a knowing glint in his red eyes.

Inuyasha was still angry at Kikyo and continued to glare at her. He decided it would be best if he took a seat. If Onigumo was in his house, there was probably a reason.

"Will somebody tell me what the fuck this is all about?" he said, making no attempts at sounding polite.

Kikyo coughed daintily and fixed her eyes on him. "Onigumo, wanting to keep both our names out of a media scandal, has been trying to gain custody of Kagome for years, but I refused to even see him. His latest attempt was the near sabotage of Shikon and that bit of mischief with Tetsusaiga."

Inuyasha crossed his arms to avoid sinking his claws into her flesh. "So he had a gang fucking kidnap Kagome and torture her? And why the fuck does he even want custody?!"

Onigumo rolled his eyes and Kikyo seemed to be suppressing the same urge.

"Because I'm her father, you nitwit. And I knew nothing of her kidnapping. Even if I did, you murdered your only evidence."

Shooting to his feet, Inuyasha slammed both hands down on the coffee table, feeling somewhat satisfied when they both flinched.

"No you're fucking _not_. She looks nothing like you! She's not even close to being like you," he growled, something in him struggling to get out and fight.

Onigumo merely raised an eyebrow and uncrossed his legs. "Oh, did you think she was yours, then?"

His face flushed and he broke eye contact. "No," he mumbled, just in case Onigumo had told Kikyo what he knew about her husband and her daughter.

"Well, I'm completely certain she's mine. She has my mother's chin. And besides, Kikyo and I never used condoms, did we babe?" he said with a smile, looking at Kikyo who smiled back. His eyes turned back to Inuyasha. "Kikyo has not only agreed to let me see Kagome, but I'll be getting full custody from now on. Your wife has informed me of her current, er, situation, with the cancer and the dying and all, and she says she wants to spend her last days with you and right her wrongs concerning Kagome and I."

The speech was similar to what Kikyo had told him that first day in his office. His knees felt weak.

"And what about Kagome?" he croaked. "What about what she wants, huh? Does she even get a say in this?"

"No," Kikyo and Onigumo said as one.

"Kagome's essentials have already been packed," Kikyo said quietly, looking down at her hands with a small smile on her face. "I was going to tell the two of you this morning, but you had already left."

Feeling desperate, Inuyasha shouted, "And what about me?! What if I want Kagome here?"

Onigumo snorted. "You have as much say as Kagome does. This decision was made by _adults_. A child and an old man in the body of a child have no say in this."

The front door opened and Kagome entered, flanked by two large men in suits. She looked questioningly at him and then at Kikyo.

"What's going on?" she asked, her brow furrowing and her eyes blinking prettily in her confusion. Inuyasha wanted to grab her and run.

Kikyo, without looking at her daughter, gestured vaguely to the man next to her.

"This is Onigumo."

The formidable man rose to his feet at the same time Kagome gasped and tried to dart away, prevented by the broad shoulders of what he now knew were Onigumo's paid guards. Slowly, he approached her, seeming to take pleasure in her wide-eyed trembling fear, and embraced her, clasping her to his chest in a mockery of a parental embrace, patting her back.

"This isn't exactly how I pictured our first meeting, Kagome, but I'm glad to finally see you in the flesh, daughter."

Kagome rose to her tiptoes in order to glance pleadingly over Onigumo's shoulder at Kikyo and Inuyasha, her arms imprisoned against her sides.

"Your father and I have decided that late is better than never. You'll be living with him for a while," Kikyo explained, something in her voice grating on Inuyasha's nerves and bringing tears to Kagome's eyes.

Kagome's tears were like a knife to his gut. With frantic movements, she disentangled herself from the long-lasting embrace and ran toward their side of the room.

"Please, please, no. No! Inuyasha, don't let them do this to me, _please_! Don't let them take me!"

Inuyasha moved to go toward her, his body reacting to the urgings of his soul, but Kikyo grabbed his sleeve and tugged him hard enough to let him know that would not be acceptable.

"Inuyasha has no say in this. Now say goodbye, Kagome. Stop crying, no one wants to see a woman cry."

Kagome flung herself at Inuyasha, ignoring her mother's attempts to pull them apart. She held him tighter than she ever had before, even when they were one, and he held her just as tight, part of him still in disbelief.

"Don't let them take me away," she sobbed, her hands tangling in his hair and her face jammed between his shoulder and neck. She was crying like a little child and there was nothing he could do.

"We'll see each other again," he whispered, hoping she could hear him over the sound of her tears.

She looked up in shock at the sound of his defeated voice. He saw everything in her eyes. Kagome had truly believed he could do anything, that he was her hero, and he had let her down. The sound of her heart breaking was almost audible.

"That's enough," Onigumo said in a bored voice, gesturing to one of his guards. The tall, square-ish man plucked a now hysterical Kagome out of Inuyasha's arms, and he himself gently disentangled her fingers from his hair, feeling like he was sending a lamb off to slaughter. It was hard for him to keep his eyes dry and he knew he was going to have a hell of a time as long as she was gone. Even breathing felt weird when she wasn't sharing the air.

" _Inuyash_ a _! Inuyasha!_ " Kagome screamed his name until she was shoved in a car and he couldn't see her anymore.

Kikyo walked past him and stood beside the car, waving in a more chipper fashion than he had ever seen from her before, like she had just won a beauty pageant in a small town and was now in a parade going up and down main street in a goddamn pick-up truck.

Onigumo smiled wide and stuck his hand in Inuyasha's face, forcing him to meet his eyes. Inuyasha just glared, imagining all the ways he'd make him pay for taking Kagome away from him. Onigumo just laughed at his expression and put his hand down.

"It was a good thing you didn't actually try to keep her here, dog. What, tired of her already? You even try and get her back and Kikyo will get all those nice pics of you and our precious little girl. Of course, every tabloid and news agency will as well. I am a thorough man, after all."

Inuyasha growled, barely stopping himself from tearing the red-eyed man apart limb from limb. If he were not so powerful, he would have without even a shred of remorse. But he had certainly made arrangements in the case of his untimely demise by Inuyasha's hand, and the thought of what would happen to Kagome in that case made his stomach lurch.

"Why?" he asked, wincing when his desperation showed. "Why do you want Kagome so badly?"

Onigumo shrugged, somewhat surprised at the question.

"She's my kid and I'm bored. It doesn't sit well with me when someone takes something of mine, even if that something is half theirs. I told that to Kikyo at the very beginning, but she insisted on being a bitch about the whole thing. Well, bye, old friend. Been a real pleasure. Enjoy your dying wife! Haha, boy, did I dodge a bullet there."

Onigumo left his house with a loud laugh and went outside, taking his aviators from where they rested on his collar and putting them back on. He gave Kikyo a kiss on the cheek and a pat on the back and entered the luxury vehicle, allowing Inuyasha to hear Kagome sob his name one last time before the door slammed and they were gone.


	36. Wasn't It a Strange Way Down

***Song for the chapter: Dress Rehearsal Rag by Leonard Cohen***

Inuyasha sat at his desk, staring at the blurred image of its surface. Was it tears this time or just exhaustion? He wasn't sure. Sleeping was done fitfully, and he hadn't had any for the past week. It had been three months in total since Onigumo had taken Kagome away. Every day without her just made it all so much worse. At first, he had gotten over the blow of sadness life had dealt him and hired several men to track Kagome down and find Onigumo's home. None of them came back. Inuyasha wished he had just gone after her as soon as she had been taken, followed the car, stealthily hiding in the woods and eventually taking them by surprise. But he was smart enough to know that Onigumo hadn't come unprepared. Just because he hadn't seen any specific weapons made to target demons didn't mean the bodyguards didn't have any. In all likelihood, he had avoided a trap. He hadn't spoken to Kikyo since, and she had given up trying to get through to him after the first few weeks. His arm felt like lead as he pressed the red button that paged his secretary and assistant into his office.

Myoga sighed wearily as he entered the room.

"Yes, Master Inuyasha?"

"Reconsider," was all he said, bitterly glaring at the flea demon with all the energy he had left in him.

"I already told you no, sir."

"Then you're fired!" he shouted, throwing a stack of papers at him and missing by about a foot. Grief and exhaustion were making him sloppy.

His assistant just sighed again and bent down to gather up the important documents.

"Master Inuyasha, I have explained this to you. I serve not only you, but your family line. The Higurashi girl is too much trouble. Onigumo is a very powerful man. It would be best to just forgive this and live happily with the woman you already have. What is it the humans say? If you can't love the one you want, love the one you're with?"

Inuyasha laughed harshly between clenched teeth, his claws digging into the wood of his expensive desk that he had used for over two-hundred years.

"If you serve my bloodline, then you serve Kagome as well, flea. She is my _daughter_."

"That is not possible, Master Inuyasha," Myoga said sadly, shaking his head. "I would have smelled it. You would have sensed it _and_ smelled it. And Onigumo would know if she wasn't his. He is a half-demon as well."

"An artificially made one," Inuyasha pointed out. "His senses wouldn't be like a genuine half-demon's. And I can _feel_ that Kagome is mine. She's mine in every way. She even bears a resemblance to my human form!"

"Wishful thinking."

"What kind of sick bastard would I be if I wished the love of my life was my daughter?!" Inuyasha cried, admitting only to himself that it was true.

Myoga finished with the papers and set them in a nice stack on Inuyasha's otherwise messy desk.

"I'm sorry, Master Inuyasha, but I cannot allow myself to assist you on your journey towards self-destruction." Myoga bowed his way out.

Inuyasha hit his head on the desk so hard he left a crack in it. There was no way to get her back if he was alone. He possessed enough self-awareness to know that. There had always been someone to do something for him, someone to pay to make the bad guys go away when he couldn't do it himself. He lacked the necessary planning, patience, intelligence, and coolness to carry out the operation successfully. He needed a partner.

"Hey, Mr. Taisho. Myoga let me in. You've been ignoring my calls for almost a year now, so I decided to drop by and discuss your financial—"

"Miroku!" Inuyasha shouted, interrupting and startling his pervert accountant. It was like a light bulb went on over his head. Miroku Houshi was closest thing he had to an actual friend. Granted, he ignored him most of the time, but still. He was of the old school belief that a boss shouldn't be a pal to his employees. Then they'd just get all soft and feely and want dental benefits and crap. He didn't get rich by handing out healthcare willy-nilly like some kind of bleeding heart idiot. Miroku was an accountant, so he had to be smart, and during his interview he had childishly tried to impress Inuyasha by telling him he was a black belt in some kind of martial art, he'd even gotten up and demonstrated a few moves for him, so Inuyasha knew he'd be a good fighter.

"Er, sir, why are you staring at me like that?" Miroku asked uneasily, glancing back at the door before looking back at him.

Inuyasha smiled, feeling the happiest he had since he had last been with Kagome.

"Miroku, how'd you like to hang out tonight? Just you and me?"

The look on Miroku's face almost made him want to take it back. The nerd's expression lit up and he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose excitedly, probably salivating as he thought about all the Star Trek episodes he could force Inuyasha to sit through.

"Definitely! But I think you should know, that although I do not and never will judge you and your preferences, I am strictly women only, so don't be expecting too much of me."

"That's not what I mean, you fucking pervert," Inuyasha barked as he got to his feet. "I need your help."

"With what?"

**O/\o/\O**

"Inuyasha, I really don't think this is a good idea," Miroku whispered, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose again, the beads of sweat that covered it immediately making them slide down again.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Just this one time, couldn't he have worn fucking contacts? He glanced over at his "partner" and fought the urge to punch him in the face. Miroku was wearing what appeared to be a leather jumpsuit made for a woman. Why he owned that, Inuyasha didn't want to know.

"Shut the fuck up," he hissed as he used his claws to carefully cut a hole in the window large enough for him to pass through. He felt like goddamned Cat Woman. At least _he_ wasn't in a leather jumpsuit. Black jeans and a black t-shirt were good enough for him.

"It's just, what makes you think Onigumo will be keeping what he took from you in his office? What about his home?"

"I can't find his home," Inuyasha growled, sweating with restraint. It was all he could do to not just punch through the window, but that would certainly set off some sort of alarm and he didn't need that. "So I started thinking. What if he doesn't have one?"

After a small pause, Miroku said, "Inuyasha, with all respect, that's incredibly fucking stupid."

"You don't understand. Nobody has ever seen him leave the building for anything other than meetings at other businesses and meals. I've had people watching him for months. It was only when I told them to try and get close that they didn't come back."

"That just sounds like he has a private exit and entrance somewhere. I mean, the guy's a multi-billionaire, he's gotta have at least a couple homes in swanky locations."

"Once again," Inuyasha said as he delicately used the tips of his claws to get the severed pane of glass away from the window and outside, "shut the fuck up. Hurry and get inside, and keep your fucking ski mask on."

Miroku kept the mask pushed up on the top of his head and Inuyasha didn't insist again. If he wanted to go to prison, that was his right. As for him, he'd make sure he was never affiliated with his nerd accountant. If they were caught, he'd bust out and all records of Miroku's employment would vanish. He'd even applied a temporary tattoo so that the cops who looked at the surveillance footage would be searching for someone with a barbed wire design on their left arm.

Inuyasha immediately knew he was on to something when he smelled her, sensed her. She was here, or had been recently. Kagome was close. He turned to tell Miroku, but was shocked to see someone he hadn't ever expected to see again standing next to his partner in crime.

" _Sango_?!"


	37. The Killing Type

***Song for the chapter: The Killing Type by Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra***

Sango smirked at him and tossed a gun to his accountant, who caught it with hardly a fumble and moved confidently to her side. The athletic woman flashed the reedy man a grin and blew him a kiss.

"Good job, Miroku."

"Anything for you, lover."

Inuyasha could not process what had just occurred. He had not even thought of Sango after he had sent her that last check while she was recovering in the hospital. It seemed as though everyone knew what was going on in his life but him, and that was definitely unacceptable.

"What the _fuck_ is going on?!" he finally asked.

His daughter's former bodyguard turned to glare at him, pulling the trigger of her weapon and shooting him right in the kneecap. Due to the shock and surprise of the moment, he was not able to withhold his cry of pain.

"Revenge, Mr. Taisho," she said in her low yet slightly nasally voice, smiling cruelly.

He grit his teeth against the pain. "You're working for Onigumo, aren't you?"

Sango smirked and twirled her gun flashily. "From the very beginning."

"You _fucker_! You fucking cunt! What have you done with Kagome?! I know the bastard's not treating her right."

"He's treating her better than you did. At least she's not being raped on a daily basis."

"It wasn't like that!" he screamed, beginning to feel woozy. Why couldn't he move? Slowly, he turned to Miroku. "And what the fuck do you have to do with this?"

His employee shrugged and smiled dreamily. "Sorry, boss. I'm in love."

Inuyasha tried to laugh, but it came out more like a grunt. "You really think she gives a shit about you, you dumbass? She's _using_ you."

Miroku scowled, raising his gun to shoot, and before Inuyasha could react, he felt a searing pain in his shoulder.

"You don't know anything."

He clenched his teeth in pain. "Then fucking _explain_."

Sango walked right up to him and clapped him hard on his wounded shoulder.

"I suppose I could tell you on the way to Onigumo," she said cheerily.

Inuyasha fell to his knees, pretending to be weaker than he really was, although he was feeling incredibly drained. It wasn't from mere blood loss, as he had lost much more blood before and had not been bothered by it. He deduced that the bullets had been treated with some kind of poison. There was still some energy left in him, but his body was hard to control and he was sweating like a college mascot at half-time. His vision was beginning to dim around the edges and the only thing keeping him conscious was the knowledge that Kagome was near. If he could just make it until he saw her, everything would be alright. Everything.

Sango grabbed one of his arms and Miroku the other, neither of them attempting to be gentle. The tall woman was practically skipping along in her eagerness.

"Well, Mr. Taisho, this all started when my little brother, Kohaku, went missing," she began, her fingers squeezing his blood-covered arm harder and her voice becoming tight. "I was absolutely devastated and the police were no help, of course. You know how they are. My father had trained us at an early age, and my skills helped me find a trail, which led to the infamous Band of Seven. Imagine my surprise when I found out my baby brother was being used as some pedophilic, gender-confused assassin's whore. And you know what the kicker was? He didn't _want_ to leave. He told me he had fallen in love with that bastard Jakotsu. Those evil fucks tortured him and brainwashed him. He was barely thirteen," she sighed, her tough persona faltering for just a second before coming back full-force. "I fought as best as I could, but they were too much for me. They took me to the man who paid the bills, apparently because they were impressed by my skills, and Onigumo told me that if I worked for him for a year, I would get my brother back and he would never be around those bastards again. Of course, I accepted."

Sango shouldered open a metal door and dropped him inside, kicking him harshly when he didn't fall the way she wanted him to. His vision was completely blurred and dimmed and his body felt like it was floating. Only his hearing was virtually unimpaired.

Sango wiped her bloody hands on her black jeans and looked down at him with an air of detached disgust. "He told me to interview for a bodyguard position at Tetsusaiga. Something like that would have been a dream job before what happened to Kohaku happened. I knew I had to make a good first impression, and when the pervert copped a feel, I saw my chance and took it."

"You… lied. Kagome. She—liked you," he gasped from the floor, his chest feeling heavy.

Sango kicked him again, this time in the gut. He could barely feel it and that frightened him more than anything he had experienced thus far in the evening.

"Kagome reminded me of Kohaku, and knowing she was going through that same torture every day made protecting her much easier. Monsters like you swoop in and destroy every bit of innocence you see. I love her like a sister, especially now that she's all I have left," she said, her voice rising steadily in volume until she stopped suddenly. He could not smell it, but he knew she was crying.

"After I was injured," she continued, her voice thick, "Onigumo took me out of commission. I had failed. Now I could never get Kohaku back. All because of your jealous fucking wife. Then Onigumo finally took my advice and decided he shouldn't leave his daughter with a robot and a rapist. The only mistake he made was using the Band of Seven to take her. And then you found her, your precious little girl, and you killed all seven men in the house." Sango leaned down and grabbed him by the hair, forcing him to look at the dark blur that was her. He could barely make out the fuzziest outline of her face, but somehow her rage-filled eyes were clear. "Or should I say six men and one boy. Suikotsu, the middle brother, left because his married girlfriend was lonely and wanted some hot birthday sex. He was the only one who made it out alive. My brother was there, and you _killed_ him. You decapitated an innocent, tortured child in order to get back the innocent child you loved to torture. Can you even comprehend how fucking sick you are?!" she finished with a shrill scream, kneeing him in the face. He heard but did not feel his nose break. "And now you're going to die. Onigumo has finally come to the conclusion that what you did to his daughter was unforgivable. My only regret is that he gets to do the honors himself."

There was moisture on his face and he knew she had spit on him. He gasped for breath, his throat feeling tight.

"Kagome," he croaked to the blur above him. "Where…Kagome…"

"Your princess is in another castle, moron," she sneered. "The king, however, should be arriving any time now."

Despite his best efforts, he flickered in and out of consciousness, not knowing if he was dreaming or hallucinating or dead. Inuyasha only began to feel his strength return, just a bit, when he heard Miroku open the door and murmur a respectful greeting. Inuyasha tried to force his eyes to open wider and blinked rapidly, wanting to see. It worked, although everything was still blurry. Kagome's scent was fresh. She had been in or around the building less than fifteen minutes ago. Sango was either lying or Onigumo had someone work some kind of magic just to fool him. The more he thought, the more hopeless he felt.

Onigumo cracked his knuckles and sighed with faux weariness. "I wanted to do this the human way, but the brat is waiting in the car so I've got to make this quick."

Tentacles, seemingly formed from the shadows in the room, grew from Onigumo's body and shot towards Inuyasha where he lay on the floor, defenseless. Time seemed to slow. Kagome was in a car, just right outside the building. She would never know what had happened to him, how he had only wanted to get her back. If he could just get to the car, get to her, everything would be alright. But he couldn't get to her. He was going to die. Suddenly, he felt his heart beat, he could even _hear_ it, a harder pump than ever before, and he could move. But his thoughts… they were different. He wanted blood. Sango and Miroku were no longer people, but walking, talking meat-stuffed skin bags. His fingers itched to burrow into their flesh and rip muscle from bone. He would paint the walls with their blood. But first, he needed to eliminate the main threat, the half-demon with the tentacles of darkness. Inuyasha had never wanted anything more in his life than he wanted to kill that man.

So he did.

He pounced, and the surprise in Onigumo's expression was short-lived. His face was the first to go, landing in shreds on the richly carpeted floor. Inuyasha made small but deep cuts on the rest of his body, ignoring the annoying screams coming from his current prey and the two that would be next. He felt small, fiery bites of pain in his back but ignored those as well. The kill was more important. His victim made a last ditch effort to save himself and plunged his tentacles into Inuyasha's chest. Unfortunately for Onigumo, he missed his enemy's heart. It was probably difficult to hit the target without having eyes to see. Growing bored, Inuyasha decided to stop playing and ripped the last of the man's skin off and plunged his hand into his ribcage, removing the other half-demon's heart and squeezing it, puncturing the still-beating organ with his claws. He dropped it and licked the blood and stringy flesh from his hands.

Now on to the other two.

The man and woman had not attempted to escape, nor could they have as he was blocking the door, instead cowering together on the floor, the most primitive part of their minds telling them to curl up and will it all away. Slowly and menacingly, he stepped towards them, relishing in their fear as he tried to think of fun ways to disembowel them. The woman scrambled into the man's lap and pressed her lips fiercely to his, their tears mingling and becoming one. The scene made him sneer at their ridiculous emotions, but then a face came to mind. He had held a woman like that once. There had been no attacker, but they too spent each moment as though it would be their last. Who was she? The woman, still on the man's lap, opened her mouth and said something. The only word that made any sense to him in her short, panicked sentence was " _Kagome_ ".

Kagome. The name went with the face. The lust for lifeblood cleared and he could think again. Whatever had happened had healed him somewhat, and he could at least see more or less clearly and walk on his own.

"Take me to her," he said, surprised at his scratchy, deeper voice.

Mutely, Sango nodded, rising to her feet cautiously. She helped Miroku up, who was looking at him as though he'd never seen him before.

"Walk in front of me."

Miroku started to protest, but Sango cut him off with a look, obediently stepping over the scattered remains of her employer and going out the door. Her boy toy followed hurriedly, not wanting to be close to Inuyasha. He sighed and tagged along. The trip was relatively short, considering that the parking garage was right next to the building. Sango walked straight ahead, shoulders straight, and Miroku kept glancing back at him. It annoyed him so much that the next time he did it, he bared his teeth, holding back a laugh when his former employee stumbled straight into his girlfriend, nearly knocking her over. The proud, frustrated woman slapped him in retribution.

The door to a sleek black car opened and out popped Kagome, alive and well. She squinted at him, as though she thought her eyes were deceiving her, and then ran the few feet to him, flinging herself into his arms. Apparently he was weaker than he thought, and he went down like a ton of bricks, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was the girl who was crying into his shoulder.

"Oh, Inuyasha, I thought I'd never see you again! He said I never would."

"Well, then he lied. You should have known I wouldn't let you get away from me, Kagome," he murmured, so full of feeling he could barely move.

Her gray eyes bored into his and he couldn't breathe.

"I waited for months and you never showed up. I thought… I thought you didn't love me anymore," she finished in a whisper, looking down and away from him in shame.

He was about to show her exactly how much he did love and want her when movement caught his eye.

"If you two try to run, then I think I'll find time for an encore." He carefully kept his language vague, not wanting the delicate girl on top of him to know about what happened to the man who had been acting as her father for months now. Once Sango and Miroku were standing as still as mannequins, he continued, "Kagome, you got the keys?" She nodded. "Good. Now, you two get in the car and drive us home."

Slowly, carefully, he rose to his feet, Kagome sliding off and helping him when she realized he was not at prime performance. He saw the questions in her eyes and willed her to delay the asking of them. Thankfully, she picked up on his mood and helped him to the car, never once breaking physical contact with him, for which he rubbed the soft inside of her elbow in thanks. Once they were all settled, he leaned back and closed his eyes almost all the way.

"Miroku, you drive." He didn't trust Sango to merely chauffeur them to their destination peacefully. She'd try something. Miroku, on the other hand, wouldn't know what to do and would probably just end up obeying commands out of habit.

"Sango?" Kagome questioned, puzzled. It seemed like the girl hadn't realized her friend was present. "Sango, what are you doing here? Dad said you were celebrating New Year's with your boyfriend. Is this him?"

Sango nodded, her face pale and lips hardly more than a thin line.

Kagome's brow furrowed and she glanced between the older woman and Inuyasha.

"Why are you covered in blood? Inuyasha too… what happened?" she asked confusedly, beginning to sound scared.

"I'll explain later," Inuyasha said quietly.

"Where's Dad?"

Inuyasha growled and clenched his fists. The evening was becoming too much.

"He's not your fucking father. Miroku, drive _now_. Sango will give you directions."

Sango turned around and looked at Kagome with gentle eyes.

"Onigumo said he noticed you've been unhappy lately and he thought it would be in your best interest to send you back to your mother."

"But why so suddenly? He said we were going to a party. And Inuyasha, why are you here and covered in blood?"

Her voice was rising and Inuyasha could tell she knew what had happened and just needed confirmation before she had a full-on breakdown. He was still healing and had to concentrate all his energy on that, so he merely glared at Sango in an attempt to shut her up.

Ignoring him, Sango said, "Your father and your step-father got into a fight. It was over old stuff."

Kagome seemed a little calmer now, but something still bothered her.

"But… there's so much blood. Inuyasha's soaked in it."

"Well, those with demonic ancestry can bleed a lot more than humans and not suffer any long-term effects."

Inuyasha was glad that the former bodyguard seemed to want to protect Kagome's innocence as well. The girl's heart was no longer beating so fast and he took comfort in her calmness. Slowly, he laid his head on her lap and just basked in the feel of her. It took some effort to speak, but he managed.

"How was it?"

Kagome immediately knew what he was referring to and just shrugged.

"Pretty normal. Kind of boring. He mostly just ignored me. I had private tutors and Sango always ate with me and that was it, every day. Today, though, we were going to go to a New Year's Eve party."

Inuyasha glanced at the dress she was wearing, now somewhat sorry he had dirtied it with his blood. He hadn't even had time to notice how beautiful she looked. The dress was all layers of sheer green silk and she looked like a fairy princess. There were even real flowers in her hair. He wondered if Onigumo had taken her shopping or just had her measured and sent for it. Whatever it was, she looked breathtaking. He breathed in her scent mixed with the flowers and felt himself relax even more. Whatever he had unleashed inside himself was trying to get out again. Only Kagome seemed to keep the violence at bay.

The amount of time they'd been in the car coupled with the twists and turns told him that they were now in the long drive-way of his home. He gingerly sat himself up again, Kagome's concerned hands helping him even when he brushed them away.

He tried his best to look imposing, and said, "Sango, you know what to do with the office. I don't have to tell you what will happen if this gets out, do I?"

Sango nodded, facing forward. Kagome's brow furrowed at his vague language and he smiled at her to put her at ease again before continuing.

"Miroku, if your girlfriend does what she does best and I'm happy with it, you just might have a job again on Monday," he lied. There was no way he was letting a traitor back into the fold. Since Inuyasha felt sorry for him and he had what he wanted, he might give him his last check with a little bonus, but there would be no more business between the two of them.

The car pulled to a stop and he got out, Kagome holding his arm. Before they could pull away, he tapped on the passenger window and Sango rolled it down. Leaning in close, he whispered, "I want it all clean and any camera footage gone, understand me? I'm a forgiving man. You do this right and you two get your own place together and Sango gets a job recommendation. It's time you stop thinking of the past and focus on your future."

The woman glared at him with tears in her eyes but he knew she'd do as he asked. They were the type who followed orders. Miroku sped out of there like a bat out of hell and Inuyasha began to walk to his front door, careful not to lean on Kagome too much.

"Do you think mother will be mad?"

Inuyasha snorted. Kikyo has been spending all her time with Suikotsu after his last rejection of her. He could hear the two of them upstairs in her room even now, several yards from the porch. Kikyo both disappointed and disgusted him now that he knew she was involved with one of the Band of Seven.

"She's busy tonight, Kagome, so I'm just gonna tell her in the morning. Come on, I've got a surprise for you."

He led her into the house, his hands over her ears so she wouldn't hear what her mother was doing. A plan formed in his mind and he felt more energized with every step he took, the violent thing within him now in agreement. It had been too long and he had to be with Kagome, to feel her, to drown in her. She no longer smelled like his and he needed that little bit of reassurance that he was her only one. He could feel her smile, knowing where he was taking her. He had been a little unsure if she'd want this as well, thinking she'd rather talk first and maybe just cuddle or kiss instead of picking up right where they left off.

Their trek to the basement seemed slow and he felt jittery the entire way. He hadn't even entered their room once since she had gone to live with Onigumo. They had only ever used their secret room once and he intended to make up for lost time tonight. Once they got to the stairs, he got so impatient he removed his hands from her ears and picked her up and ran, making her squeak and laugh. Kicking the foosball table out of the way, he gently placed Kagome on its covered surface and fumbled with the key which he still wore around his neck. Shoving open the door, he grabbed her wrist and brought her in with him. The room was stuffy and dusty so he opened the window, the little bit of relief making a huge difference. Kicking the door shut, he picked her up again briefly only to plop her down on the bed and kiss her lips for the first time in months. She tasted like toothpaste and candy and Kagome and he moaned. He had dreamt of this for so long, her absence like a missing limb without the maddening comfort of that whole phantom thing. He wanted to make this last, but they could do that the second time around.

"God, angel, take off your dress before I rip it off."

Her dress was already ruined, stained with his blood, but it had looked so nice on her that he'd like another one made, maybe in blue or white. The heavily breathing girl obeyed, her own frantic actions ripping a hole in a seam before she flung it aside. Wasting no time, he fastened his lips onto her breast, sucking hard, forcing himself to be gentle after her muffled cry was more pained than pleased.

"Be loud, Kagome, be as loud as you want. I need to hear you, baby."

Kagome removed the pillow from her face and he continued to suck, loving every moan and cry that fell from her lips, even if he felt she was exaggerating them a little for his benefit. She reached for him and tugged off his shirt, her hand brushing against his shoulder.

"Inuyasha, there's something hard there," she said worriedly.

"You don't say," he said with a groan as he slowly entered her.

She gasped genuinely, no more exaggerations.

"No, in your shoulder. What is it?"

Inuyasha frowned, remembering the bullets. His skin must have healed over them.

"Don't worry about that," he whispered, kissing her softly. After the evening's events, he was kind of tired, and scrunched down so he could lay his head on her chest and listen to her heart beat as he pumped into her, kissing her breast and mouthing her name onto her skin. She was clinging to him, her hands buried in his hair. They were so close he could almost really believe they were one being, just him and her. The look on her face told him she was almost there and he was glad, not knowing how he had held on so long.

"Fuck, Kagome, I fucking love you. Only you," he said, making the sentence long and drawn out with a moan shaping his voice, distorting it in a pleasant way.

"Oh god, yes, I love you so much," she whispered, having a hard time forming a coherent sentence. Her face was flushed and he leaned down to kiss her, feeling her clench hard around him the moment their lips touched. Her eyes had rolled back in her head and her lip was trembling. This was the face he had missed so much, the thing he needed to see to feel right again. He released and gathered her into his arms, her insides still clasping and imprisoning him. It was beautiful and he had never felt so loved and willing to love.

"Happy anniversary, baby," he murmured, leaning up and pulling out. A loud noise and a fiery pain sent him back onto her. He felt the blood trickle out and bathe his skin.

His heart.

The bullet had pierced his heart.


	38. Honesty

***Song for the chapter: Honesty by Billy Joel***

"No! Inuyasha, no!" Kagome screamed, holding him to her and sitting up, shielding him as best she could with her arms. "Don't go, don't die."

Inuyasha could barely hear her, but he didn't like the fact that she was crying. A pain even worse than the first flooded him and he screamed, or thought he did, he couldn't be sure in the darkness. Feeling came back little by little and then he could open his eyes again. Kagome had her cheek pressed to his and was rocking him, a bright white light emanating from her and covering the both of them. He tightened his arms around her and she moved to look at him, her tears still on her face.

"You're… you're okay," she breathed, her eyes big and rainy.

"Why the fuck wouldn't I be?" he grumbled, confused.

"That holy bullet should have finished you off, husband mine. I didn't think our little abomination was capable of expelling pure power, though. My mistake," Kikyo said.

Inuyasha whipped his head around to look at her and growled, positioning himself in front of Kagome, covering her nudity and shame with his own and protecting her.

His wife looked at them both with distaste and continued, "I knew something wasn't right, but I didn't think it had come this far." The furious miko was wearing nothing but an open robe, her lover, a now malicious-looking Suikotsu, standing behind her wearing only a pair of boxers and a sick smirk. "Exactly when did this start?"

"From the very fucking beginning, bitch." There was no need to hide, and he certainly wasn't going to try and let her down easy after she had shot him like that.

Kikyo raised the gun back to shoulder height and smiled. "So you never even wanted me? You wanted her?"

He nodded warily, his eyes narrowing. Kagome was scared and crying, filled with guilt and shame. Her trembling form was distracting him and he couldn't focus.

Kikyo sneered and craned her neck to try and see her daughter. "Stop hiding behind your white knight and face me, Kagome."

"Don't talk to her. You deal with me."

Kikyo ignored him, her eyes hard and bright. "How does your little incestuous tryst feel now?"

Inuyasha stopped breathing. He wanted to cover Kagome's ears like he had earlier and run away. The window was too small for a person to fit through and he'd have to kill Kikyo and Suikotsu to get away uninjured, and there was no way that Kagome would allow that. The only thing he could do was try to talk her out of it.

"You know damn good and well Kagome never really saw me as a father figure," he said, purposefully acting as though he had misunderstood her.

She just rolled her eyes, her gun staying raised. "Don't give me that, Inuyasha. You know as well as I do that she's yours. I was lucky Onigumo was stupid enough to believe me and a weak half-demon as well, with practically no enhanced sense of smell, but you knew the entire time, didn't you? That's why you were always with her."

Inuyasha turned to glance at Kagome, who was staring at him in horror.

Merciless, Kikyo continued on. "Remember when I told you that you were just like your father, Kagome? Well, now you know why you and Papa Yasha here got along so well right from the start. Demons can instinctively recognize their kin using scent and their powers. You aren't entirely blameless, Kagome. Their spawn feel drawn towards their sire as well. The two of you wouldn't have been able to fight being with each other even if the idea had occurred to your inferior minds. You did take it a step or two too far, though, I must say."

Kagome stared at him, the betrayed look in her eyes making him nauseous. "Is it true? Did you… did you know?"

He said nothing, but that was enough for her, and she turned to the side of the bed and vomited, sobbing and choking. He held her hair and patted her back, keeping an eye on his gun toting wife and her half-naked companion. Kagome jerked away from his light touch and her sobs and gags gained volume. It sounded like her soul was being torn apart.

"Looks like our little monster doesn't feel quite the same way about this as you do, dear," Kikyo chirped. "But I'll make you a deal. If you mark me and give me back Shikon, I'll leave Kagome in your care and you can do whatever you want with her. I don't care as long as you stay alive. What say you?"

Inuyasha glared at her, trying to forget that his world was being destroyed before his eyes in order to keep calm. "You've gone too fucking far, Kikyo. The bond is sacred and only to be done with devotion and love, not with a gun to your head."

Hey lips thinned. "Fine. You can explain why you clung to tradition so stubbornly to your daughter in the afterlife," she said coldly, her finger squeezing the trigger as if in slow motion.

He steeled himself for the bullet, realizing too late that she had not been aiming for him. Moving as fast as he could, he shoved Kagome face first hard onto the bed, her scream muffled but still grating against his ears and soul. The bullet grazed her hip, going through the bed's headboard and settling in the wall. The smell of Kagome's blood and her pain shook him to his very core and the dark rage joined with the wild violence and overtook him. This time, he didn't even think.

**O/\o/\O**

Kagome lifted her head from the bedspread, the taste of her vomit still thick in her mouth, recent revelations making her head spin. Inuyasha had given a bone-chilling roar and leapt off the bed and on to Kikyo, where he was now. His hands were around her throat and he was bashing her head against the ground. Suikotsu lay dead in the doorway, his throat slit and bleeding. Kikyo's face was purple and her eyes were bulging, the gun forgotten beside her and her hands weakly beating at her husband's forearms. Kagome didn't know how things had gotten like that and part of her thought it was all some crazy dream and she'd wake up and her math tutor Kagura would be waiting impatiently outside her door, telling her that Onigumo was not pleased with her lack of progress. Drawing her knees to herself, she wrapped her arms around her legs and tried to stop shaking. A sharp crack made her wince and then her mother's brains spilled out onto the floor, her blood mixing with Suikotsu's and making a puddle.

Inuyasha, his eyes blue and red and murderous, was straddling Kikyo's body and wiping the blood on his hands off on her skin. Kagome's breathing quickened uncontrollably and she was gasping, her chest heaving. Their eyes locked and he was on her in an instant.

"No, Inuyasha, no! It's me," she sobbed, unintelligible even to her own ears and knowing that even if he could understand her, it wouldn't make any difference.

He ignored her and forced her onto her stomach. His much longer and sharper claws pierced her hips as he gripped them and she screamed. She screamed in fear and she screamed for him to help, only dimly realizing that the man she was screaming for and the man who was hurting her were one and the same. Without any kind of signal or warning, he plunged into her, not stopping when he heard her screams increase in volume and become drenched in fright. It had never been like that before. Inuyasha had always made love to her facing her, telling her repeatedly how much he loved to see her expressions. He had always started slow, only quickening at the end and never as fast as he was currently going. He went deeper than ever before and it hurt.

Kagome groaned and choked on her sobs. "No, please, _no_."

That seemed to stop him and she sighed in relief, making the pain when he bit into her neck that much more agonizing and unexpected. She tried to get away, but he just clamped down harder and thrust hard again, his hands coming up and grasping her breasts, squeezing until she thought they'd pop like balloons in an old cartoon. She had been crying so hard and for so long that now a long string of mucus hung from her nose, almost touching the bed. She didn't know when or how she had managed to get to her knees or if Inuyasha had made her do it. The pain got worse rather than better the longer it went on and soon it felt like her entire body was on fire, but not in the nice way he had made her experience so many times before. She just wanted to the pain to end, but it was stubborn. She prayed for some god to take pity on her and end her suffering. To her surprise, there was a response, and she felt a whisper in her heart. It was hard to understand at first, but grew louder and clearer. Soon it was like a scream, and even though it came from inside her it made her ears ring.

_**SUBMIT** _ _._

It commanded her, and although the majority of her wanted to reject it, it called to some primal, secret part and she found herself going still and relaxing her shoulders. The pain stopped and Inuyasha finished, rolling off her and flopping bonelessly down on his back. Her knees shook and she collapsed, half on top of him. She cowered, suddenly remembering how Inuyasha had transformed into something very different, but when she tried to move respectfully away from him, he lazily wrapped an arm around her and kept her where she was. Kagome tentatively touched the heavy limb with the tips of her fingers. He grunted, sounding like himself. She dared to look at him. His golden eyes were half open and gazing at her languidly. She cried in relief, quickly edging towards hysteria. She couldn't get enough air and she just wanted to crawl to a dark place and be alone. Her lover's nose began to twitch like mad and she knew the exact moment when he realized what he was smelling. His eyes went wide and he stumbled off the bed, directly into the pool of blood.

Inuyasha blinked rapidly and his eyes filled with tears. "Oh god. Oh Kikyo, what have I done?!"

He was sobbing as he gathered her mother in his arms, pressing his lips to her forehead and blue cheeks as if that would revive her. She wished he would close her eyes. Her bulging, dull eyes still seemed to be full of hatred and disgust which Kagome knew she deserved. She tried to move to get a better view than out of the corner of her eye, but found that she couldn't. Whatever he had done differently to her had rendered her almost incapable of moving anything but her arms, which were currently feeling like limp noodles. Still, she crawled and repositioned herself so that she was facing the gruesome scene. Witnessing it was terrible, but not being able to see it was worse. Inuyasha was sobbing with Kikyo in his arms, rocking back and forth, the drying blood making odd little squelching noises. Kagome's throat was raw from screaming and crying and vomiting, but she tried to say something, to tell him that she needed an ambulance. She could feel blood trickling from her vagina and her neck wound, and although it didn't hurt anymore, they were both bleeding steadily. A small squeak managed to escape her lips, but Inuyasha did not hear, too absorbed in his own grief. She began to cry again, for her mother and Inuyasha and herself, and the darkness bled from the corners of her eyes and she gratefully collapsed into nothingness.


	39. But to Whom Do They Belong?

***Song for the chapter: Windmills of Your Mind by The Parenthetical Girls***

Inuyasha had woken up in a nightmare. The last thing he remembered was Kikyo shooting at Kagome, and feeling so angry he thought he'd burst. Then suddenly he was remarkably satisfied and relaxed, feeling as he had never felt, like everything was finally good and right in the world. Which was precisely when he smelled it. Blood. Kikyo's blood, and another person's. He picked her up, forcing himself to touch her corpse. Somehow, he knew this was his doing. Kikyo had never had a happy moment with him, and now he had ended her happiness forever. He should have controlled himself, he should have been kinder.

He certainly should not have killed her.

Fragments of bone poked his arm and he shuddered with the realization that he had bashed her head open. It all became too much, the smells, the sights, the feelings. If he stayed in the room any longer, he was sure to vomit like Kagome had.

Kagome.

His head whipped around and he saw her on the bed, face down with her arms extended. Had he…? He shook his head. Demons were incapable of killing their children or their sires. Still, she was covered in blood and hardly breathing. She needed to go to a hospital, someplace where they wouldn't ask too many questions. But where? He gathered her in his arms, carrying her like one would a sleeping child, her head lolling on his shoulder. Fleeing the room of horrors, slipping almost comically in the puddle of blood as he did so, he ran to his car, realizing they were both naked. His dread of going back inside overwhelmed his desire to clothe himself and the injured girl. Opening the glove compartment, he fished around for the spare phone he kept in case of emergencies, and this certainly qualified as one. Myoga needed an update. Balancing Kagome in his lap, he dialed the number from memory, not having it stored on this phone. The old man answered instantly, and the background noise let him know he was in public, at some sort of party. It came to him again that it was New Year's Eve. Or day. He wasn't sure.

"You have a lot of work to do, old man," Inuyasha said wearily, not taking his eyes off of Kagome's still and bleeding form.

"Can't you just take holidays off from your shenanigans?"

Inuyasha shut his eyes in annoyance at his subordinate's flippant attitude. "This isn't a fucking joke. Onigumo's dead in his office by my hand, and Kikyo and her boyfriend are dead in my basement under the same circumstances. That's what happens when you deny me your help."

The sound of the crowd on the other end diminished, signaling that Myoga had retreated to a more private location.

"Oh, Master Inuyasha, this is not good. Definitely not good," the flea demon fretted. "You just killed three very powerful people! This isn't going to just go away."

Inuyasha struggled to keep his voice down. "I _know_ it's not. That's why I called you. Now quick, give me that doctor Kaede's home address."

"What do you need a human healer for?"

"Kagome."

His servant paused briefly, a tense silence filling the line. "…You didn't—"

"I can't. And I wouldn't. She's my daughter, Myoga, and I can feel it even though I can't smell it."

Myoga sighed and ended the call.

Inuyasha got a text with the address he had requested and immediately put it into his car's GPS. Not willing to let go of the girl he loved, he drove with her curled up in his lap, going as fast as he dared. When he arrived at a quaint little brick house on the edge of a small neighborhood, he knew even without his GPS telling him that he had arrived. There were a few people outside in the street, talking too loudly and enjoying each other's company, carrying red plastic cups and sometimes holding hands. He carried Kagome out, ignoring the stares and joking wolf whistles. He pounded on the white door, the blue television light from inside telling him that he had gambled correctly and she was home. It took a while, during which time he did not stop his furious knocking, but eventually the elderly woman came to the door. She glared at him straightaway, and once she recognized him and his precious cargo, her glare intensified. Without asking a single question, which he greatly appreciated, she led him inside, entering a small guest room and pointing to the bed, where he gently laid Kagome down. Kaede leaned over the girl and began her examination, poking and prodding her and rolling her over halfway to check her back.

Finally, the woman straightened and faced him. "Well, it doesn't take an idiot to know what happened to her."

"What?" he asked urgently, his heart beating like a bad club song. "What's wrong with her?"

The elderly woman glared at him with enough force for two eyes. "Don't act innocent now, you filth. You can't tell me you don't remember marking the girl!"

Inuyasha stilled. He had marked her? Pushing Kaede out of the way, he brushed Kagome's hair aside, baring her throat. There, on the side, covered in dried blood, was the mark. The fang punctures looked larger and deeper than his, but the aura certainly belonged to him. There was no mistaking it. They were mates now.

"And you forced yourself on her. Why you would bring a girl you brutalized to a powerful priestess who cares for her boggles my mind, half-demon."

Inuyasha flinched but did not move from Kagome's side. He could feel the old woman gathering her power, and he knew she was following through on the promise she had made. She was going to kill him for hurting the girl they both loved. He wouldn't object; he wanted to kill himself for hurting her. What had possessed him to do these things and why couldn't he remember? If he was dead, she could live a normal life, the one she wanted. Maybe Hojo would forgive her and take her back. It was better this way. Leaning over Kagome, he pressed his lips to hers, dimly hearing the countdown end on the television. He smiled.

He had finally gotten his new year's kiss.

With a yell that he could tell was a battle cry, the priestess behind him released a blast of energy, and even though it was across the room he could already feel his skin burn. Without warning, he was rolled over and pushed down, Kagome's face looming above him, her eyes still closed. Kaede gasped and Kagome absorbed the power, falling onto his chest.

"Kagome?!" the old woman cried, panicked. "Kagome, was the power too much for you?"

"She was unconscious the entire time," he whispered, awed.

Kaede sneered and turned to bustle in a chest of drawers. "That's not possible."

Inuyasha glared at her back. Kagome was sweating from absorbing that much foreign power. Another thing she'd have to recover from.

"A demon's child will always protect its sire, no matter the circumstances."

Inuyasha remembered his father, and how he, even as young as he was at the time, had a bad feeling about him going away that day. His father laughed and just patted him on the head, explaining that it was just a routine trading expedition and he would be back in a month. Three days later, Inuyasha woke up in a cold sweat, a feeling of utter desolation and failure in his stomach. He knew. A week later, his mother received a messenger telling her that his father had been attacked and killed by a rival merchant. Inuyasha had sought out the demon on his next birthday, killing him with his bare hands. His first kill. Only then did he begin to regain some sense of normalcy again. It explained why Kagome's priestess powers had never hurt him before, only healed him as they would a human.

Kaede stopped rustling through the drawers. "Are you telling me what I think you are telling me?"

Inuyasha ignored her hushed question. "What are you looking for?"

"Ammonia inhalants."

"Smelling salts?"

"I want to hear what happened from Kagome's mouth. I will deal with you later, since apparently I can't kill you with her nearby."

Inuyasha smirked. "If you do kill me, she'll come after you. It's something we feel we have to do. We can't go on living until we get our revenge."

Kaede disregarded his arrogant claim and broke open a small plastic tube, waving it under Kagome's nose. She immediately started coughing and gasping for breath, turning onto her side. Kaede handed her a glass of water, which she swished around in her mouth and then swallowed. Inuyasha caressed her back, wanting to hold her but not knowing how she'd react. She had looked at him as though he were the vilest thing on the planet when Kikyo had dropped the bomb of truth on her.

"Where am I?" she asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Kaede instantly shifted into grandmother mode, pulling a blanket from nowhere and bundling her in it.

"You were hurt, so I brought you to Kaede's," he said softly.

"I had the strangest dream," she whispered, her voice sounding lost and vague.

Inuyasha could tell she remembered but did not want to confront the memories. He had been hoping that maybe things had been so traumatic she had blocked them out or something, not for any selfish reasons but because he didn't want her to carry that pain.

Kagome looked at him with that same unsure gaze before turning to Kaede. "I need to talk to him alone, please."

Kaede nodded, then he felt a quick, sharp pain in his upper arm.

"Ow, what the fuck!"

"Ouch! What was that?" Kagome said, rubbing her upper arm.

Kaede said, "I took a small blood sample from the both of you. You can stay overnight and I should have your paternity test ready by tomorrow evening at the earliest. I have a lab staffed by fellow priestess healers that owes me a favor. They're the best when it comes to combining science with spiritual powers, and we'll need their help if we're to discern whether or not the two of you are related. Beings of demonic descent have a different make-up, so it's quite difficult to compare and they have to use different methods regular humans pay no attention to. In addition to your blood, they'll be comparing your auras, which leave a trace in your blood cells. Have a good rest, Kagome, dear."

And then she bustled out, leaving him with a crying Kagome. She sobbed into the pillow, curling up into a small ball. Everything had finally caught up with her. Inuyasha stared at her guiltily, every tear like a knife in his heart.

"I don't know what to say to you, angel. I don't know how to make it alright."

"You can't."

"I love—"

Kagome covered his mouth. "Just stop," she begged, her eyes big and watery. "After everything, you don't get to say that anymore."

Inuyasha shook her hand off his face. "But I _do_. Listen, I know we were going to wait to mark you, but I couldn't control myself, and—"

"You _marked_ me?!"

"Yeah, I thought you knew."

Kagome was angry now, her tears still on her face. The blanket fell and revealed her naked breasts, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Inuyasha, I didn't even know what it was for most of my life. When you held me down and bit me, was that it? Was that a mating mark?"

He nodded.

Kagome placed her hand on his and entwined their fingers. "I thought you were trying to kill me. You were so different and after seeing what you did to Mother and _him,_ I-I—" She started to cry again. Inuyasha took her in his arms, his love sharper than before now that it was strengthened with the bond and mixed with grief and guilt.

"I don't remember. I know what happened, but I don't remember," he said in a tortured whisper.

"And then after you… you did that to them, you were on top of me and it hurt so bad. When you were done, you didn't even look at me, you just went straight for her and you held her and I couldn't even talk—"

Inuyasha kissed her head, rocking her back and forth. It was apparent that she was about to start having some kind of panic attack.

"We can talk about it later," he said, trying to be soothing.

"No, we talk _now_. The mark… you said when you marked me, I'd stay that age forever. Is that true?"

"Yes."

Kagome's head fell forward onto his shoulder despondently.

"It's not so bad, Kagome," he said reassuringly. "A lot of humans wish they could go back or stay sixteen forever."

Her head whipped up again and her eyes were full of rage. "Not so _bad_?!" she yelled. "Sixteen is 'not so bad'? _Sixteen_ means always being self-conscious. Always caring about things you know don't matter. _Sixteen_ is acne in weird places and crazy hormones. _Sixteen_ means I can never have a real job, so I can never be a nurse now. _Sixteen_ means my bones haven't finished forming. _Sixteen_ means my brain has not matured to its full potential. Sixteen is terrible," she finished, her voice cracking and the corners of her mouth twitching downward.

Inuyasha rubbed her back. "Kagome, I've been twenty for a few hundred years. It's not so bad. I'll be with you every step of the way."

She was silent for a long time, and he was just grateful that she was allowing his hands to touch her after they had done so many terrible things in her presence.

After a while, she said, "Was what Mother said true?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Is it true?"

Inuyasha sighed. "I felt… close to you from the very beginning. I thought that meant it was fate. It was only that night, where I… when Kikyo and I got into that disagreement and you told me about your father in the kitchen that I finally put two and two together. I didn't want it to be true, Kagome, but then I didn't care."

She pushed away from him. "If it's true, then I want to die," she said, shuddering in disgust.

He grabbed her by shoulders, shaking her desperately a couple times, as hard as he dared. "Don't fucking say that! What does it matter? What difference does it make if it's true or not?!" he yelled.

Kagome shook her head and laughed like someone five times her age. "It makes _all_ the difference. How can you even say that?"

"I love you enough to not care," he said boldly, earnestly.

Kagome covered her face with her hands and he took the opportunity to embrace her again.

"It can't be true," she murmured. "We would have known if it was true."

Inuyasha said nothing, thinking that telling her about protecting him even while unconscious would just have to wait until she was ready to hear it.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide and bright. "It's not true, right? She was just saying that to hurt me."

Inuyasha kissed her cheek, glad to see that she was no longer crying. "You should rest, Kagome. We'll deal with it all in the morning."

"I can't! I keep thinking about Mother and what she said and what she looked like when—when… Did you really not know what you were doing?"

He felt like slapping her for that comment, surprised at himself for his reaction. Pointedly, he reminded himself that she had been through what was probably the worst night of her entire life and she needed comfort, not anger.

"I really didn't. I can't remember anything after she tried to shoot you."

Kagome began to cry again, slow and tiredly. "I wish I didn't remember. I don't want to remember it."

Inuyasha turned to shut off the lamp that was on the night stand. Gently, he took Kagome in his arms and lay down with her.

"Just stop thinking about it. The details will fade away someday and then this will seem more like a fact out of some textbook than something you actually went through." He spoke from experience.

Kagome turned in his arms to face him. "I want to believe you."

"Then do it."

She closed the short distance between them and kissed him softly, sadly on the mouth.

Inuyasha broke away, saying, "I'm not sure we—"

Kagome interrupted him with another kiss, and even though it felt good, he remembered that she had thrown up not too long ago. He supposed it doesn't matter too much since he couldn't taste it, but it was still kind of gross.

Breaking the kiss again, he whispered, "Just let me take care of you. I'll make you feel better and worship every bit of your body until I'm the only thing you can remember."

Kagome smiled. "Not in Kaede's house, Inuyasha." Giving him a chaste peck on the lips that signaled there would be no arguing, she whispered, "It can't be true, right? It's not true."

**O/\o/\O**

Kaede came into the guest room in the morning without bothering to knock, bringing them both a change of clothes. She had gone out and bought Inuyasha sweatpants and a bright purple shirt from Walmart or something, which pissed him off. Kagome was wearing something much more upscale, a lilac summer dress with brown sandals. At least the colors they wore matched. Sort of. Inuyasha's phone rang as soon as they were finished dressing, and he went back into the guest room and closed the door to answer.

"Sir, the official story is that Suikotsu killed Kikyo in a fit of rage after she told him she was breaking it off with him. They had a secret room within the very house, and were very diligent about meeting when you were not there so you would neither hear nor smell them. We had to get the police involved since they were both human and Kikyo was well-known, but you were interrogated thoroughly and gave a satisfying alibi and have been cleared of all suspicion."

Inuyasha groaned. He didn't even want to know how much money he had just spent on bribes. "And Onigumo?"

"The man had a lot of enemies. The official story will be that he has disappeared, but it will be strongly hinted at that he was murdered by drug dealers for an outstanding debt."

"Good. And what about Kagome?"

"As her only living relative, she's yours."

Inuyasha sighed in relief. Everything was going well. There was bound to be a lot of talk, though. It was certainly sensational, when one thought about it from a detached point of view. A wealthy heiress murdered by her lover on the one-year anniversary of her marriage. It would become one of those things people obsessed over, their morbid desire for details fueled by the media's speculations, which would certainly involve him.

As an afterthought, he said, "Pay some news outlets as well for favorable coverage. Make sure they don't start making rumors."

"Yes, sir."

He hung up, glad he had been stressing about nothing. Kagome, hearing the end of the conversation, came through the door, wrapping her arms around him.

"Who was that?" she asked, not waiting for an answer before she gave him his first kiss of the day, lazily exploring his mouth.

"Just Myoga. He's telling me about stuff. I think we should lay low for a while."

Kagome nodded. Inuyasha marveled at her change. The broken girl from last night was nowhere to be found. She was sunny and smiling, her hair pulled back in a ponytail and her mark on display. He didn't know if he was relieved or disturbed.

Smiling brightly, she said, "Kaede says she got the results back quicker than expected. They made us a priority and worked on it overnight. She's got some pretty impressive connections."

Inuyasha nodded and she kissed him, letting their tongues dance, sucking his before pulling away. It was like she couldn't get enough of him and only her respect for Kaede was keeping her from jumping him where he stood.

She moaned in regret as she pulled away. "I just know it's good news!"

Kagome skipped out of the room and he followed her, dread in the pit of his stomach. What would happen when it wasn't the news she wanted to hear? He sat down at the small round table in a corner of Kaede's kitchen. The old priestess sat very still, her one eye scanning the document in her hands almost as if she didn't believe what she was reading. He sat across from her, next to Kagome who was shuffling her feet and tapping her fingers impatiently. Finally, the aged priestess put down the paper and sighed.

"So?" Kagome said, almost angry in her hurry. "What is it?"

"Are we… am I her father?" Inuyasha asked awkwardly.

Kaede's mouth was set in a grim line, her eye avoiding both of them and staring at the wall behind their backs. Her mouth opened and then closed, and she stretched her neck and squared her shoulders, seemingly gathering her strength, appearing very nervous. Whatever it was, one of them wouldn't like the answer.

**Note: Cliff hanger. I don't do them as often as some, but I did here. Ha. Also, Kikyo's finally dead, like for real, and it's final. Woohoo! And I didn't have her fall off a goddamn cliff a dozen times and end up alive somehow like in the actual series. Points to me.**


	40. Lose the Feeling

***Song for the chapter: Disorder by Joy Division***

Inuyasha, incredibly tense and impatient, finally let the words burst through and sneered, "Out with it, you old bitch, am I her father or not?!"

Stiffly, her neck creaking as she did so, Kaede nodded.

Kagome let out a scream that turned into a sob and covered her mouth, her other hand clenched into a fist on top of the table. Her eyes were closed, but a few tears still escaped and rushed down her cheeks and neck. Inuyasha reached out to touch her and she jerked away, stumbling to her feet.

"Sit back down, Kagome," Kaede said heavily. "That's not all."

She didn't seem to hear, so he stood and pressed down on her shoulders until she finally wobbled and sat. The old woman's words had him curious and he was now as impatient as Kagome had been at the start of things. Kaede cleared her throat and continued, still not looking at either of them.

"There haven't been any recorded fruitful couplings of a priestess and a half-demon in all of history," she explained, her voice dry and in a monotone, like a professor discussing a topic they had grown bored with thirty years before. "There were a couple priestesses and full demons who produced offspring, and their cases were almost exactly the same. You see, from the moment the egg is fertilized, the priestess's spiritual powers see it as a threat and attempt to purify it. However, their instincts will not allow them to personally destroy the life inside them. This leads to them only purifying the DNA of their demon partner. When the child is born, she, and it is always a she, is an exact replica of her mother, even down to the personality. All this is done without the woman even realizing it."

"That doesn't make sense," Inuyasha protested. "Kagome isn't anything like Kikyo."

"That is because Kagome was born prematurely. She was almost a full month earlier than she was supposed to be. Had her mother carried her to term, Kagome would both look and act differently. As it is, your DNA still remains in her."

"So am I her father or not?!"

Kagome looked catatonic, just staring ahead out the window, and they both glanced worriedly at her.

"Technically, yes," Kaede said regretfully. "But not really."

"What in the fuck does that even _mean_?" If this continued, he was going to snap.

"Well, if, for example, you had sired a child in your youth some five hundred years ago or more, and that child had children and their children had children and so on and so on into the modern day, that person would be more closely genetically related to you than Kagome is."

"What the fuck?" He was now beyond confused.

Kaede sighed in exasperation. "Let me put it in _simple_ terms for _simple_ people. Say you threw a snow ball at Kikyo. Kikyo then used part of the snow from that snowball to build a snowman. Did you build the snowman?"

They stared at each other, and finally he answered, "Uh… no?"

The elderly priestess applauded sarcastically.

"So I'm her father, but I'm not?" He didn't know how he felt about that.

"Precisely."

Kagome abruptly got up and left the table. Inuyasha heard her vomiting in the bathroom.

Kaede finally centered her eye on him with disgust. "Apparently, that's not good enough for Kagome. Nor should it be. I must add, however, that if you two have managed to conceive and she is with child, the fact that she still shares a shred of your demonic DNA will prevent her spiritual powers from purifying the child's non-human traits."

Not even considering that worthy of a reply, he ran to the bathroom door, opening it in a hurry. Kagome was crying into the toilet, her fists pressed hard against her eyes. Concerned, he wondered if she was hurting herself on purpose. Inuyasha leaned against the door, wanting to go to her but afraid of what she'd do or say.

"Fuck, angel, it's not so bad. Did you even hear what she said?"

She just turned and stared at him with hollow eyes. "You're my father. I thought I knew for sure it wasn't true, but it is. You are."

"But not really," he said urgently, moving closer to her. "Like, we could have a baby and there wouldn't be anything weird about it."

" _I am not procreating with my fucking parent_!" Kagome screamed as she rose to her feet. Her face was pink from crying and anger.

Hurt, Inuyasha shouted back, "Oh, so it's okay to lie to yourself and hang all over me, but the minute things get real it's over? What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"What's wrong with me? With _me_?! My mother tried to murder me last night and then my," she spat out the word, having trouble saying it, "my _father_ killed her and her boyfriend. Now he's mad because I don't know what to do?! What the fuck is wrong with _you_?!"

Kaede opened the door and entered, making Inuyasha wish he had thought ahead and locked it or something. "I think it would be best if you left, Mr. Taisho."

Inuyasha growled at the intruder dangerously, warning her not to involve herself. "There's no fucking way I'm leaving Kagome! I am her mate and her legal guardian and yeah, I'm her dad. That's a little fucked up, but I've got every law on my side."

"I need to be alone to think, Inuyasha. Just please, let me think. I can't think when you're around," she begged in a high whisper that went straight to his heart.

"…You want me to leave?"

Kagome nodded firmly. "Yes."

"N-now?"

"Yes," she sighed. "I have a lot to think about. You—you think of me like some perfect little doll, like I'm your everything, and that's too much. I'm not that great. I'm not that pretty, I'm not that good, I'm not that interesting. It's like you don't know who I am, you just see what you want me to be. You put me on a pedestal, and you're _obsessed_ with this idea you've projected onto me, and I can't take it anymore. Not now."

Inuyasha turned to go, his throat tight and burning. For her to say something like that showed that she had been thinking for a while, even before last night's events, mulling over the good and bad and finding him lacking. How could he have missed that she wasn't as happy as he was? He paused in the doorway, bitter and hurt when she didn't try to stop him.

"I'll be back in a week. That's enough time to think. After that, you're coming back with me, no matter what. We'll put this behind us and start over," he said, his tone brooking no argument.

"Just go," she whispered.

And he did.

**O/\o/\O**

A week passed by. A week of reporters crowding outside his house, yelling things he tried to tune out, the name of his late wife always making him flinch. He suspected the pizza boy of telling them where he lived and vowed he would no longer continue to order from them. As it was, there was no food in the house, apart from ramen, which he was beginning to detest. The clean-up crew had done a good job. All of Kikyo's things were boxed away in her old room and the door was locked. He couldn't even smell her now. The one time he had found it in himself to go to the basement, a faint whiff of blood remained and he hightailed it out of there, gagging along the way. Human blood always lingered. He spent the days watching television and trying not to remain so hurt by Kagome's words.

She had wanted him to leave. He loved her, so he did, even though it tore him up inside. The fact that they were mates made it worse. Every cell in him craved her, her scent, her nearness. He knew she could not feel the way he did, her being almost 99.9999999% human and all, but sometimes he thought he heard her crying, felt her pain. The pain of loss that he was feeling as well, all for his mate.

The night before the week was up, he was busily preparing ramen and ignoring the sounds of reporters outside his curtained windows when he felt a sharp pain in his chest, spreading from his solar plexus to the ends of his body. It was agony, like a thousand knives of purification in each pore. He collapsed, the abrupt movement sending the pot of boiling water tumbling down onto him, though he hardly felt it. Inuyasha couldn't breathe, could hardly see, and he wondered if this was something like what Kikyo had felt before she died. It continued for an eternity, until it abruptly stopped. Weak, he raised his wrist to eye level. It had been about twenty minutes. There was only one explanation for the pain, the pain he had only ever heard about.

Kagome, his mate, his one love, was fucking someone else.

Shakily, he got to his feet, determined to go back to the old woman's house and kill whoever had caused their bond to be played with. They would pay in their blood and flesh, and Kagome would come home with him. The old bitch would die too. His eyes flashed red and he left, disregarding his car in favor of running. He ignored the crowd of people surrounding him and flashing cameras. Inuyasha let out a purely demonic roar as he left, and it was the scream of a broken, violent man.


	41. I'd Love to Kill You

***Song for the chapter: I'd Love to Kill You by Katie Melua***

Myoga sighed and squeezed into his usual booth in the diner, his girth almost too large to fit in what he considered the ridiculously human-sized thing. He had been frequenting the establishment for decades, and the waitresses were always kind enough to mix a bit of their own blood in with his coffee in exchange for a sizeable tip. The coffee itself was subpar, but the blood of a woman struggling to survive was always tasty.

The young woman whose presence he had requested settled down across from him, not looking him in the eye. Her mother had been the opposite, defiantly glaring at him with her cold and always triumphant gaze. He much preferred her daughter, but that didn't say much. She was also a dumb bitch who had overstayed her welcome in the world.

Putting on a grandfatherly expression, he said kindly, "Well, Miss Higurashi, I'm glad you got my message."

Kagome sneered. "It was written on my bed sheets in blood, how could I have missed it?"

The flea demon chuckled, the sound thick and sounding clogged in his throat. "True, true. I've come to explain a little something to you about mating and bonding and marks and all that."

The girl stiffened. "That was three years ago. I don't need to hear it now."

"Oh, but you do. You see, mates share an unbreakable bond. And that means un _break_ able—"

"Tsubaki broke her bond," Kagome interrupted irritably.

Myoga waved a hand dismissively. "She merely overpowered and absorbed her mate. The bond is still there. Anyway, a demon feels the bond differently than a human does. A human hardly feels it at all. When the two are separated, even for something normal like shopping or a party or what have you, the demon is uneasy and paranoid. If the separation continues, the demon's feelings grow stronger. And if you ever, er, engaged in certain _activities_ with anyone who was not your mate, the demon would be in great pain, greater than you can imagine, and eventually go completely insane."

The look on the girl's face was horrified, and he almost smiled. Whatever guilt the bitch was suffering was nothing compared to what his master endured.

"Why now? Why are you telling me this?"

"To be perfectly truthful with you, I have spent these past few years trying to find a way to kill you without damaging Master Inuyasha," he explained calmly. "You see, if Inuyasha died, you would feel nothing besides the normal sadness at the passing of a spouse or lover. But if _you_ died, the grief he would feel would almost certainly plunge him straight into a depression so deep he would take his own life. That is why demons do not mate with humans. It has nothing to do with racism or feelings of superiority as humans are always insisting. It is simply the fact that humans cannot experience what demons do and the chance of betrayal multiplies a hundredfold with a human mate."

Kagome's brows came together in a way that reminded him strongly of Inuyasha. He brushed the feeling off with a slight shiver. There was no way his master was right about that. No way.

"If you knew where to find me all this time, why haven't you told him? He must have sent you to look for me."

"That's the problem with Master Inuyasha. He underestimates my loyalty, always has. I have been trying to get rid of you women from the start. I am grateful that he trusts only me or this would have been much more difficult."

The girl's eyes narrowed and her face colored with anger. "You were the one who covered my room with dog hearts and blood that day, weren't you? You were the one who took all those pictures! And you told the Band of Seven about Inuyasha's past just to hurt me."

Myoga nodded. He had honestly expected her to figure it out ages ago. Her mother would have. She had been a smart cookie, taking his advice and exploring the basement, finding the room without him having to go into detail, never revealing his "accidental" mention of the place, not that she ever got the chance, of course.

"I have the honor of being the only one able to sneak up on Master Inuyasha. I wish I could say it was because of some skill of mine, but it is simply because he disregards my presence after having been around me for so very long. I mailed the photographs along with the information to Onigumo in secret, and he never even questioned the source. I guess he was grateful, especially with the photographer he hired through the Band of Seven being so incompetent. Master Inuyasha will consistently underestimate my devotion to him. Everything I do is for his gain."

"So what are you here for? It couldn't have been that five minute speech. Out with it."

"Well, Master Inuyasha has… retreated from reality."

"He… he what?" she asked quaveringly, her eyes going big behind the ridiculous heart-shaped sunglasses.

He continued as though he had not heard her. "I honestly did not expect him to last this long, him being only a half-demon and you leaving him so soon after the mating, but he did. He lasted longer than any other full-demon would have," he explained, his tone tinged with a brag.

"What am I supposed to do about it? I left him, remember?"

"You've heard about Shikon shutting down, correct?"

She nodded.

"That is because it has no spiritual power. I can give it to you and you will take your rightful place at its head."

"That is not the life I wanted or want."

"What else will you do? You look sixteen, and once it gets out that you're mated to your step-father whose wife was murdered under mysterious circumstances, you won't be able to get a job anywhere."

"I don't need a job," the girl protested. "Tsubaki takes care of me."

"But for how long? You need something for yourself. And don't try to pretend that you are happy. I know how she treats you."

Kagome looked away and they fell into silence.

"Miss Higurashi, you are still considered a missing person. I have kept the world from finding you. Do not make me withdraw my protection."

She sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just visit him. A visit from his mate will clear his mind. After he did not find you at your old doctor's house three years ago, he tore up nearly all the trees in a state park and then went home. He hasn't come out since. I go in every week to bring him groceries and make sure he's alive. He won't allow me to visit more often than that and he won't let me stay for more than five minutes," he explained, his voice lowering. "Tetsusaiga is failing and that means the entire world's economy will worsen. Just please, spend some time with him."

Kagome took off her sunglasses and blotted the tears on her face with a napkin. "Alright. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Miss Higurashi."

They shook hands and she left. Myoga took a sip of his now cold coffee. He had left out a lot of things in his conversation with the girl, the most important of which being that Inuyasha now switched between a half-demon who mumbled incoherently and saw visions of his dead wife to a demon who prowled the woods, tearing apart small animals and devouring trespassers. Just the week before, he had clawed up and consumed a teenage couple drinking on the very outskirts of his woods. The only way for a demon to not suffer any terrible consequences from the death of its mate was if they killed their mate themselves. Myoga had saved this option for last, having already spent a fortune on dark priests and priestesses who exhausted their knowledge of spells and potions. He had been worried that since Inuyasha was half human, the murder of his mate by his own hands would harm him in unforeseen ways, but as it was his only choice left, he would use it.

Truthfully, his master's sanity had been slipping since before he met the original Miss Higurashi. He'd lived fast and dangerously, and that kind of lifestyle was not appropriate for an immortal. His bouts of madness were easily covered up, and at first the Higurashi woman had seemed to help, but it just got worse after she left him, and then worse when she came along with the girl. He had turned into an obsessive, delusional shell of the man he had been before, and he could only hope this would shock him back into sanity.

**O/\o/\O**

Kagome walked the short distance home, taking much longer than usual. It had been difficult to sneak out of the house, and since she was not allowed out, she lingered in the fresh air and savored the feeling of the setting sun on her skin. Tsubaki thought she was out in the yard gardening, and hopefully she had not left her room to check on her. Kagome sighed, wondering how the days had been so long and the years so short.

Kaede had introduced the two girls the day Inuyasha had left, when she had silently agreed that she'd go back with him in a week. She and Inuyasha together was just inevitable. Kagome thought that might sound odd or depressing to some people, that she didn't believe she had a choice, but she felt joy when she thought of it that way. They were truly meant to be. She had intended to keep her promise, knowing she just needed some time to get over the shock, but Kaede had intervened, telling her she could do better, that she had a future, that there were others like her out there. That had gotten her attention, and the old priestess called her neighbor from down the street and told her to come over and that it was an emergency. Kagome had barely exited the bathroom after brushing her teeth when the doorbell rang, and she answered it at her doctor's urging.

Standing at Kaede's porch was perhaps the most beautiful girl Kagome had ever seen holding a tray of cupcakes that seemed too perfect to be home-made yet undoubtedly were. With her incredibly long black hair, large blue eyes and perfect skin, Kagome was beginning to feel short and clunky. But Tsubaki's kind smile made her feel at ease and she smiled back.

Kaede came to the door and with a big smile introduced the two girls. "Kagome, dear, this is Tsubaki. She's a priestess and also the victim of unwanted mating."

She looked back at the older girl, who suddenly seemed much more interesting now that she had a backstory. Tsubaki glided through the door, the way she walked reminding Kagome of her mother and making her heart hurt, carefully placing her tray of cupcakes down on the coffee table. Reaching up a slim hand, she flipped her hair back, revealing a large bite on her neck.

"A hundred years ago," the beautiful girl said in a low, melodic voice, "a demon I thought was my friend broke into my home and brutally raped me, marking me in the process. Whether he intended that or not, I'll never know, as I destroyed him in his slumber and freed myself. The mark remains, but my mate does not. I do have his lifespan, however."

Kagome gasped. The girl looked to be about a year or two older than her at most, and gentle as well. She reached out to touch the mark, which still appeared bruised, and Tsubaki shuddered as her fingers ran across it. Kagome herself felt something electric and drew her hand away, blushing and lowering her gaze.

"I-I'm sorry I did that. It just… looked painful," she said in an embarrassed whisper.

Tsubaki grasped her hand and smiled. "Don't worry, Kagome. A little curiosity is a wonderful thing to have. I can already tell we're going to be great friends."

Kagome smiled back, a bit of the weight on her heart lifting.

Motioning to her plastic-covered yellow sofa, Kaede said, "Sit down, girls. Thank you for coming, Tsubaki. I thought it important that Kagome know there are other victims out there."

"I don't feel like a victim," Kagome confessed.

The two other women stared at her and then at each other, a look of understanding passing between them.

Kaede spoke first, her voice gentle and low, like she was talking to a frightened animal. "I know you think you love him, but that was due to his manipulations, child."

"It is true," Tsubaki chimed in. "Demons are clever and know how to turn on the charm."

"But he's not charming!" Kagome protested in earnest, wanting them to understand. "He's weird and goofy and kind of mean."

They didn't know what to say to that and just glanced at each other again.

"We have to make a plan, Kagome," Kaede said, grim and earnest.

"Plan for what?"

"Where to put you."

"Put me?"

"You'll need to be hidden."

"What for? Or from?"

Tsubaki laid a hand on her knee, her eyes sympathetic and understanding. "The demon will come for you. He will not take no for an answer."

The way she said it sounded so foreboding and Kagome flashed back to the way Inuyasha had taken her that night. From behind, like an animal, and rough. She had let him touch her after that only because she was so relieved he was back to himself, but every kiss had still hurt. It had felt good, but it had hurt. Would he make it hurt again?

"Inuyasha knows where I live, so you will not be able to stay here, even though I'd like you to," Kaede said. "Tsubaki is a powerful priestess, and her home has many enchantments and wards and barriers."

Tsubaki smiled at Kagome with her perfectly straight, white teeth. "Would you like to come with me? I'll make sure it's a never ending sleepover."

"But Inuyasha—"

"Once a demon has mated you, you are no longer you, you are merely their property," Tsubaki said sorrowfully. "Please, just come spend the night and we can figure this out together. I think you need to spend some time with normal, healthy people. Maybe stay away from guys for a while. You've been through a traumatic, horrific experience that I cannot even imagine, and you need healing. Let me help you."

The girl's eyes were so pleading and big and beautiful, the blue nicer to look at than the sky, that she found herself nodding, even feeling excited. After all, it was only a few days.

True to her word, Tsubaki made the next six days like a constant sleepover. She made pizza and went slow to show Kagome how, and they watched girly movies and did each other's hair. On the last night, Tsubaki told her she had a beautiful profile and taught her how to emphasize it with make-up, which she had hardly ever worn and didn't really know how to use, and even gave her some of her own jewelry. The older priestess insisted that Kagome dress up in negligee and started to do the same. She called it a lingerie party and said women did it all the time in the suburbs whenever they were bored. The item she picked out for Kagome was a white bra and panty set with heavy embroidery on the cups. She was embarrassed to wear it in front of Tsubaki, feeling exposed, and when the other girl noticed, she gave her a sheer lace babydoll to fling over it. Kagome put it on and suddenly felt giggly, fun, and incredibly alive. She wondered if this was what regular young people felt like all the time. Eyeing the pretty material clinging to her body, she wondered why a single woman like Tsubaki would have so much lingerie, but then the door opened and there stood her new best friend in a plain black balconette bra and a teeny tiny thong. Kagome blushed and looked away, but Tsubaki just laughed.

"Don't get weird on me, Kagome. We're just doing it to feel pretty. Don't you feel pretty?"

Kagome nodded. She actually did. The make-up and hairstyle Tsubaki had done for her made her feel like another person, and she liked it. The jewelry she had let her borrow looked like real gold and diamonds, but even still, she preferred the ring Inuyasha gave her, which continued to hold its seat of honor on her ring finger. She twiddled with it, suddenly feeling nervous. They'd see each other again tomorrow. What would she say? Had he been taking care of Buyo? Of himself? Tsubaki noticed the direction her thoughts were heading and jokingly bonked her head.

"Remember, tonight is for fun!" she said happily. "Take the ring off, it clashes."

Kagome almost didn't comply, but then she looked down at it and realized it really did clash. She didn't need to wear it all the time, anyway. Once it was off, Tsubaki pulled out a gold band with a huge rock on it, seemingly from nowhere.

"Here, wear this. It matches."

Kagome did, the weight of it making her hand feel heavy.

Tsubaki smiled and hugged her. "You look like a bride on her wedding night."

She blushed. Nobody had ever complimented her as often as Tsubaki did. Smiling, she teased, "And you look like a dominatrix."

Tsubaki's smile widened and she grabbed Kagome's hand, leading her back into the master bedroom.

"Where's my sleeping bag?" she asked, looked around. They had both been sleeping on her host's bedroom floor in Disney character sleeping bags that Tsubaki had already had.

Her friend shrugged. "I felt bad for the bed. It wasn't being used. And my back's hurting and I have a feeling yours is too."

Her back was fine, but she wouldn't turn down a bed. Tsubaki's was big and comfy and covered in squishy heart-shaped pillows they had fought with on more than one occasion. Kagome jumped on the bed and spread out her arms and legs like she was making a snow angel, no longer at all self-conscious. Tsubaki crawled over to her and smiled, laughing at her display of childishness.

Turning serious, she asked, "Do you still want to go back to your demon, Kagome? Even after all this? If you stay here with me and let me protect you, every day will be like this."

Kagome nodded. "Yes, I have to go back to him. You've made me very happy and I'm glad I found someone like you, Tsubaki. You're the best friend I've ever had, I think. Besides Inuyasha, anyway. So yeah, I'll come back and visit, but I want to go back to him. I need to."

Tsubaki smirked and suddenly she was straddling her, their faces only a few inches apart. "Wrong answer," she purred. "Let me rephrase that. Do you want to leave me forever, Kagome?"

Kagome found herself getting lost in the blue and her mind began to cloud. "I, well, no, I—"

Tsubaki closed the distance between them and kissed her hard on the mouth, biting Kagome's lower lip and sucking in the blood, soothing the stinging sensation with her tongue. She pulled away and stared down at the younger girl beneath her, her gaze suddenly darkened and malicious.

"What… why…?" Kagome breathed, confused.

"I have your blood. Now you do what I want."

Kagome felt her arms stretch behind her head and grip the bed post without her consent. Her legs spread and locked, leaving her wide open. Her friend just stared, her tongue darting out and moistening her lips. Tsubaki took one finger and ran it down the center of Kagome's neck, drawing it downward and splitting open the thin fabric of the baby doll. For a second, it looked like she had claws, and Kagome tried to struggle but found she couldn't. She didn't even really want to.

"I never understood why beautiful girls would even temporarily tolerate a male," Tsubaki whispered huskily. "All they do is possess and ruin, possess and ruin, over and over. Demon males are the worst. Why, Kagome? Why pine for a man when you have all the beauty you need right here?" she asked, unclipping her own bra and releasing her gravity defying breasts.

Kagome almost rolled her eyes. The woman had no flaws, it was ridiculous. Her friend leaned down and kissed the tip of Kagome's covered breast.

"I love the way you smell in my perfume. I love the way you look in my clothes, in my jewelry," Tsubaki sighed. "You and I are just perfect for each other, my little flower. I'm going to keep you safe and make you strong enough to be like me."

The kiss was so gentle, so soft that Kagome inhaled sharply in surprise. Inuyasha had never been like that. She wasn't quite sure if she totally liked what was going on, but her body certainly did, whether from Tsubaki's clever tongue work or her spell, she did not know. If she could form words, she'd ask if Kaede had known what would happen. She didn't like to think the woman she considered a grandmother had sold her out like this. However, Tsubaki's lips were sweet and earnest and Kagome couldn't help but respond. Even though it was the spell that was forcing her lips apart and making her tongue dance with the other girl's, she still enjoyed it and that enjoyment was all hers, wasn't it? Tsubaki moaned on top of her and kissed the corner of her mouth before grinning at her and moving to her breasts, her perfectly manicured nails dragging down the bra and leaving small pink lines on her pale flesh. Kagome shivered at the sensation and bucked when teeth encountered her nipple and tugged, the dark priestess's pink tongue darting out and licking the nub, making it stand tall and proud on her chest.

Dazed, Kagome tried to remember why this was wrong, what she was fighting it for. The more she thought about it, the worse it got. Why was she being so mean to her only friend? Tsubaki was just being nice and making her feel good, that was all. It was rude to refuse a gift. The blue-eyed girl pulled away from the gray-eyed one's breast with a wet pop, her own saliva glistening on her lips.

"If you're ready to be a good girl, Kagome, I'll let you play."

Kagome whimpered in consent and suddenly her limbs were free. Tsubaki smoothed her hair and pulled her into another kiss.

"Please, mistress, please continue," Kagome begged, panting.

Tsubaki's eyes twinkled. "I was hoping you'd say that. But first, you're going to have to repay me for what I just did."

She nodded eagerly and Tsubaki lowered her breasts onto Kagome's face, sighing in contented pleasure when the girl sucked like a newborn and pinched with just the right amount of force. Kagome faded into her mistress, no longer completely herself, and something told her it was a great honor. Tsubaki knew she had chosen correctly this time. This one wouldn't leave like all the others, this one would live and age like her. Tsubaki pulled her new slave off her by the hair and noticed with satisfaction the dilated pupils and worshipful gaze. Reaching for one of her pillows, she pulled her favorite toy out from the pillow case and turned it on, rubbing the vibrator on her hard nipples and then down her abdomen, ghosting it over her waiting lips, coating it in her fluids. Without a warning, she shoved it in the other girl, kissing her on the lips when she cried out. Ripping herself away, she pushed her down and crawled over her.

"No doubt you've pleased your demon and he's pleased you, but pleasing a woman is something very special, my flower."

Kagome nodded without listening, not understanding why her mistress was making her wait to taste her. She was a woman too, she knew what women liked. Unable to control herself in her eagerness, Kagome grabbed greedily for the other girl, her hands finding her ass and pulling her onto her face. Her eyes closed in rapture as she took the first lick, the echoes of Tsubaki's surprised, pleased laugh still in her ears like the chorus of her favorite song. She went slow and then fast, not sure how her mistress liked it, but then her mistress took control and ground into her face and released. Kagome felt more pleasure from Tsubaki's juices coating her lips, chin, and neck than she did from the vibrator still going strong inside her.

"Mmm, that was good for a beginner. Now you get a turn."

Crawling down her body, Tsubaki's eyes flashed happily as she yanked the vibrator out of Kagome and turned it off, flinging it to the side. Kagome began pleading with her eyes only to have them roll back in her head when her friend and mistress ripped her underwear off and took a long lick up her lips. The other priestess attacked her slowly, building her up and letting her down again and again until she finally let her cum. The orgasm was more than anything she had ever felt, but when it passed, she could think again. Still shaking like a leaf, she realized Tsubaki was holding her in her arms, staring at her face with the littlest smile on her lips.

"Oh god, Tsubaki, what did you—"

"You mean what did _we_ do," Tsubaki interrupted. "You were pretty eager there, yourself."

Kagome shook her head in panicked denial. "No, that wasn't me, I wasn't—"

"I would never have been able to use your blood to control you had you not been attracted to me in the slightest bit."

"But… but Inuyasha… "

"Do you really think he'd want you now that you've been with someone else?" Tsubaki asked, one perfect brow raised like Vivien Leigh's as Scarlett O'Hara. "A human male might let you get away with it as long as you did it again and made him watch, but you're mated to a demon and they're different about that. He's already felt your pleasure at another's touch through the bond. He won't want you anymore."

Kagome was about to argue and then remembered when he had accused her of wanting Hojo, how angry he had been, and those had just been vague suspicions. What would he be like now that he knew for certain? Feeling hopeless, she began to cry, and Tsubaki held her to her naked breast. Kagome was absurdly comforted by the embrace, even though her best friend was nothing more than a rapist in disguise.

"Shhh, my little flower, you will always have me. I will love you and we will please each other," Tsubaki said soothingly. "Remember how much fun we had while you were here? It will be like that every day." She punctuated the sentence with a kiss to the lips.

Kagome said nothing and her mistress allowed her to cry herself to sleep.

**O/\o/\O**

Kagome opened the side door of the house she had been living in for the past few years. It was just a house, never home. The sound of the television from upstairs had her sighing in relief. Tsubaki was probably in the same position she'd left her in, sprawled out in front of the television on her bed in her room. Kagome now had her own room, something she had insisted on and Tsubaki had reluctantly allowed her to have. She still spent most of her nights in Tsubaki's room and in her arms. In order to sneak out again, she'd have to really knock it out of the park tonight. A small smile, one of the first real ones in years, made its way onto her face.

She was going to see him tonight. Tonight.

Not attempting to disguise her presence or muffle her footsteps, she bounded up the stairs, stopping when she got to Tsubaki's room. The door was open and there she was, naked, as usual, watching some dirty movie where a schoolmarm was attacked by her class of busty blonde schoolgirls and taken on her desk. It was one of her favorites. Sometimes she made Kagome dress up as a schoolgirl and ravish her, other times she played a no nonsense teacher and made Kagome into a student badly in need of discipline. One thing was always more or less consistent: Kagome in a tacky school uniform she hated.

Sighing quietly in the doorway, she took off the expensive ripped designer jeans and fashionably baggy shirt of Tsubaki's and dropped to her knees. The dark priestess had not acknowledged her, but knew she was there. The fact that she had not been touching herself before Kagome had entered was proof enough. She waited with her head bowed, a plan of attack forming in her mind.

"You may enter," Tsubaki finally said.

Kagome stayed on her knees and crawled until she got to the bed and waited again for instructions.

"You may proceed. But keep your head down and be quiet about it, I want to keep watching." The older girl turned up the volume and soon the room was filled with the sound of slurps and exaggerated moans.

"Yes, Mistress."

Going immediately to her breasts, Kagome licked and teased her exactly as she liked as fast as she could. It was quickly becoming dark, and Inuyasha's house was on the other side of town. She had no method of transportation, never having learned how to drive.

Tsubaki shoved her head down and Kagome kissed along her abdomen until she got to her mistress's textbook perfect lady parts. Using both tongue and fingers, she went quickly, wishing she wore a watch. A sharp tug on her hair forced her gaze up and she met the steamy eyes of her housemate.

"It suddenly occurred to me," Tsubaki murmured in her perfected sexy voice. "Why watch a film when I have my own naughty schoolgirl right here?"

Kagome paled. Tsubaki's role play scenarios were always ridiculously long and drawn out. She had tons of scripts she had written out and made Kagome memorize. Stiffly, Kagome went to the closet and looked at her half, which consisted purely of fetish costumes and lingerie. Anytime she needed anything normal, which was rare, Tsubaki dressed her in something of hers.

"I think I want to see you in green plaid, tonight, my flower."

Kagome grimaced. That was her least favorite one. It reminded her of her real schoolgirl uniform, which of course reminded her of her old life. All her friends had graduated by now. Did they even remember her?

Kagome pulled the garment on, wondering for the thousandth time why she did what Tsubaki said even though she hadn't been controlled since that first time. Boredom? Fear? Or did she actually like it? It was true, she enjoyed the physical sensations sometimes, and Tsubaki could be a good friend, but the lifestyle just wasn't for her. Kagome stepped out of the closet, her outfit making her the picture of slutty innocence, right down to her patent leather mary janes.

Tsubaki eyed her hungrily. "I think it's been a while since we did script number forty-three."

The gray-eyed girl instantly went into character and began to unbutton her blouse, wondering why Tsubaki made her dress up just to get her undressed again so soon. Naked from the waist up, she stepped lightly and jumped on the bed, purposefully making her breasts jiggle.

"Miz Tsubaki," Kagome said with a slight lisp, "I've got an awfully strange feeling."

"A strange feeling where, Britney?"

"In… in my… pussy, miss."

If only she could cringe. Kagome bit her lip and twirled one of her pigtails.

"Describe this feeling, Britney. Tell me what it's doing to you."

"Well, I'm all hot and wet and tingly." Kagome blushed. Tsubaki's writing was just dreadful and it made her feel like an idiot. She always ended up blushing, which always made Tsubaki even hornier. She thought it made her look innocent and maidenly, just like a real schoolgirl.

"I think I can help you with that, my dear. Lie down and let me have a look."

Kagome did as she was told, now shyly covering her breasts. She didn't know what Britney's deal was. One minute bouncing around all shameless like a retarded puppy and the next coyly hiding herself. Tsubaki gently pried her arms away from her chest and licked at a nipple while Kagome held her head.

"Mmm, does it get worse or better when I do this?"

"M-much, much worse, Miz Tsubaki."

"Well it'll have to get worse before it gets better, I'm afraid."

Tsubaki took her time with Kagome's breasts, palming and sucking and teasing and biting until Kagome was no longer faking her pants and moans. She had decided long ago that she might as well enjoy what the other girl did to her as long as she was stuck with her. Kaede had moved away right before she and Tsubaki had consummated their "relationship", leaving no forwarding address, so it wasn't like she could just go and stay with her when she was having problems. Tsubaki had said her leaving was out of fear of Inuyasha.

"Mmm, Britney, you taste so good!"

"Thank you, ma'am. Does this count as extra credit?"

Tsubaki laughed at her own joke and shook her head from side to side as she licked Kagome's clit. She exploded and Tsubaki drank up the juices, holding her bottom and caressing it until she calmed down completely.

"Ooh, Miz Tsubaki, that does feel better! Thanks! Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Well, if you still want that extra credit, you're perfectly welcome to work for it," she said, blue eyes flashing as she spread apart her lips.

What came next was what Kagome hated most about number forty-three. Shutting her eyes, she willed away all emotion and dove in. If the regular licking and sucking was all she had to do, she'd be fine, but Tsubaki always just had to have more.

"Try a little lower, Britney."

Kagome complied, thankful that Tsubaki was always very clean. Flicking her tongue in and then rimming around, Kagome spread the juices that had leaked down her perineum into and around her other hole, teasing and making her mistress whimper. Shoving four fingers inside the girl's cunt, she rammed them in and out until she shuddered and came hard with a scream.

Instead of the next step, which was Britney and Miz Tsubaki in a sixty-nine position, Kagome grabbed a paper she had hidden in her shoe and slammed it hard onto Tsubaki's stomach. Immediately, the woman beneath her froze. Kagome smiled and wiped her mouth, spitting onto the floor. Might as well do the other things she wanted to do as long as she was heading down that road.

"I've sealed the demons inside you, Tsubaki. Since that's what keeps you going, you can no longer move. If I left you here, you'd turn to bones by the time morning came, but don't worry, I'll be back tonight."

With a quick kiss to the lips and a prayer that Tsubaki liked her enough not to murder her, Kagome darted into the closet and changed into the lilac dress she had been wearing when she had last seen him. Tsubaki had tried to throw it away along with her ring, but she had rescued them both from the trash. Taking the ring from the shoebox on the floor where she had hidden it away in a pair of go-go boots, Kagome put it on her finger, admiring the way it looked as though it belonged on her. Slipping on brown sandals, she hurried to the bathroom and took some baby wipes to erase the evidence of her orgasm. Satisfied that she was clean, she yanked the elastic bands out of her hair and left, but not before visiting Tsubaki's purse and taking some money for a taxi. She smiled all the way as she jogged to the main street and hailed a driver.

She was going to see him again. Even though it was just for a little while, even though he didn't want her, she'd see him again.


	42. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?

***Song for the chapter: What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life by Dusty Springfield***

**A comment before we continue: I thought it was kind of weird how a lesbian scene made a few of you uncomfortable but not the whole incest thing… Just sayin'.**

The walk up the driveway was dark and scary, and she kept tripping over small stones, the sandals she wore not exactly made for use in any place that was not a mall or something similar. Kagome kept hearing rustling noises and she didn't know if they were normal or not, not having ever walked the path at night. The taxi driver had refused to take her down the road, saying it looked like something out of a horror movie and there was no fucking way he'd be starring in one. He was perfectly willing to leave her there though, even after she explained it was miles of dirt road and she'd be all by herself. She had given him a two dollar tip, which was as spiteful as she could be considering he had been the one to take her back to the place she had dreamt about for years.

Along the way, it occurred to her that she had only spent about a year with Inuyasha. That meant that she knew Tsubaki better than she knew him. But why didn't it feel that way? She cursed herself for wearing the sandals. At the time she had been dressing, she had felt very strongly that she not wear anything coming from her new partner, for lack of a better word. But the things were flimsy, although pretty. A pair of Tsubaki's workout sneakers would have been more appropriate. But they wouldn't have gone with the dress! Another flash of apprehension pulsed through her. What would he do? Say? Think? Feel? Without a doubt, he would be angry. Very angry. As long as he wasn't so violently angry like before, it would be alright. Even if he was, she understood him, and she would welcome whatever biting words he'd fling her way. And what about her? Would it be the same as it was before? Could it ever be? Reminding herself she was just here to talk to him, not run away and get married, she trudged on.

After nearly an hour of speed walking and spurts of running, she was finally at the front door. The place hadn't changed a bit, but the feeling had. She no longer felt welcome. She didn't think anybody did. Tentatively, she knocked. All the lights were off and she was not expecting an answer. She couldn't remember anyone ever knocking at the door, except for guests they knew were arriving and delivery men. No solicitor or Jehovah's Witness would venture that far. She waited a couple seconds, then knocked again, this time louder and longer. Nothing. Again, she knocked, and finally the door opened and there he was.

She gasped as the wind from the movement blew her bangs out of her face. Him. Unchanged. Only the look in his eyes was different. Somehow childish. And then Kagome remembered all of what Myoga had said. Had she really done this to him? Had she made him crazy?

"Are you real?" he asked, his voice hoarse and grating.

She couldn't speak. Her feelings were coming back so strong and her mark was pulsing on her neck, reminding her of everything she'd left behind. With a sob, she flung herself into his arms and kissed his jaw, that strong curve she had loved and admired from the very first moment she saw him.

She was home.

His house wasn't home, Tsubaki's house wasn't home, the dilapidated structure she'd lived in with her mother wasn't home. Inuyasha was. He was her home. She heard the door slam shut. Without her realizing it, he had dragged her inside. Kagome didn't even care. All she wanted to do was cry in his arms.

"Please don't cry, angel. What's wrong? Are you hurt?" His voice was soft and confused and it made her cry harder.

"No," she managed to squeak out. "I've just missed you. So, so much. Do you hate me?"

Inuyasha at first said nothing, looking at her quizzically. "Are you sure you're real? Your hair grew."

"Yes. Yes, I'm real. And it's the only thing that has." Kagome was still somewhat bitter at her lack of development. She had always wanted to be as tall and thin as her mother while still retaining her large (for her proportions) breasts, the size of which would have only increased, she was sure of it.

"Where did you go? You haven't been home in months." His tone was somewhat chiding, so unlike what it would have been.

She held back a forlorn cry by pursing her lips. "Years, Inuyasha, it's been three whole years."

"Is that right?" he asked distractedly. He sat down in his chair and she sat down on his lap, not wanting to be separated from him, kissing his forehead when he didn't push her away like she almost expected him to do.

"I see you've been taking care of Buyo," she said, nodding toward the bowls of cat food and water on the floor. She heard the jingling of the bell on his collar, letting her know her obese cat was prowling around somewhere in the house. "How have you been?" she whispered when he didn't respond.

"Oh, fine. Fine," he said, sounding like an old man. "Kikyo was here just before you. She said that if I saw you I should tell you to practice your archery."

Kagome froze. Myoga had not told her he'd been having hallucinations of Mother.

"Inuyasha, Mother is gone," she said carefully.

He nodded. "Yes, she just left."

Taking his face in her hands, she made him look at her. "No, Inuyasha, she's dead. She'd been dead for three years."

Inuyasha just stared at her with a look that made her feel like the crazy one. After a few moments of silence, his eyes crossed slightly, and he said, "Huh. Maybe you're right."

She hugged him around the neck and he patted her back with slow, irregular movements. "Do you remember anything about that night?" She had been aching to know ever since they were separated.

"What night?"

"When Mother and Dr. Suikotsu died."

"When was that?"

"Three years ago."

"Where was I?"

Kagome said nothing, instead just stroking his hair like a mother would her child's and softly running a nail along and tracing the outside of an ear, which twitched in response. "Come with me."

She took his hand and made her way to their old room, the room that was supposed to be theirs but had forever become Kikyo's and Suikotsu's. Maybe seeing the place would jog his memory. She kicked open the trap door and blindly walked down the stars, keeping her other hand on the cement wall for balance and orientation. Inuyasha pulled back on her hand and she stumbled.

"You shouldn't be here. Let's go," he said.

Kagome pulled forward insistently. "No, Inuyasha! You need this and so do I."

She felt he was ready to bolt so she kept a firm grip, surprised when he followed obediently down the stairs and into the basement. With seeking fingers, she flicked on the light switch, only to scream once the room was illuminated.

Two bodies. Two. Had he kept her mother and Suikotsu? His hands came up over her eyes to cover them, reminding her of what was probably their first and only date, when he had taken her shopping and to the movies, showing her a world she had known of but not experienced.

"I told you. I knew you wouldn't like it."

Trying not to panic, she took his hands away, clinging to them in spite of everything. He was the only other living thing there and she could not break away from him. Kagome wondered why she didn't smell anything, but then realized the state of the bodies. In the cool, dry place, they had been naturally mummified. Inuyasha must have let the room air out from time to time, somehow without letting in any flies or other bugs and rodents. The more she looked at them, the more she realized something.

Kikyo had been wearing a robe and the doctor had been wearing only underwear. Both corpses in front of her were fully clothed. The remaining hair that still clung to their skulls was different as well, the female's shorter and lighter than her mother's. She didn't want to look anymore, but she had to. She took a step closer and recognized the shirt, now brown and splotchy with corpse fluids and mold.

"Oh, Inuyasha, what have you done?" she questioned softly, still gripping his hands. "Why? Why Sango and her boyfriend?" She turned around to face him and he stared at her, unperturbed.

"Did I…? Oh." His eyes cleared a bit and focused. "That's right. I hired Sango and Miroku to find you. They came back and said they knew where you were and they were going to tell everyone if I didn't give them money, a lot of money. More than they deserved. I don't remember anything after that. But I couldn't let them say anything. I had to protect you. It wasn't right for them to know and not me. Shoulda made them tell…"

Kagome was crying by the end of his brief tale. What had happened to him? Myoga had said he was insane, but he had not mentioned anything like this. Was this her fault? Her tears stilled on her face in her shock. Her fault.

Kagome looked back up at him. Inuyasha was still staring at the corpses with his brow slightly furrowed, as though trying to puzzle something out. Reaching up her hands, she smoothed the lines away, making him look at her.

"Don't worry, Inuyasha, it's alright. This wasn't your fault, this was mine. Let's go upstairs."

He nodded and flicked the light off, and they turned their backs on the empty shells that had once housed their friends. She sighed when they left the guest room, shutting the door behind her and wishing she could shut a door on her thoughts. Inuyasha was staring at her and she felt like he was going to ask her if she was real again. She didn't think she could bear it if he did.

"Would you let me live with you again, Inuyasha?"

He nodded slowly. He seemed to be coming back to himself faster and faster.

"I'd like that, too. I just have to leave really quick and take care of something and I'll be back. Do you think you can give me a ride?" She needed to unseal Tsubaki and explain things to her. She wasn't sure she could beat her in a battle of their powers, but now she had a reason to try.

Inuyasha shot out his arm and slapped her, leaving her stunned.

"W-why?" she whispered, too surprised to feel hurt.

"You just came back. You can't leave again. You only just came back," he said matter-of-factly. His shoulders were shaking and his muscles were tensed, clashing with the tone of his voice.

"Inuyasha, I _have_ to go, but I promise I'll come back. I even said you could come with me," she said, trying to make him understand.

"I don't trust you. Not after everything."

Even though his words were true, they hurt her deeply, more than any slap. "Please, Inuyasha, _please_! I have to get back before morning. Tsubaki will die if I don't!"

He shook his head and clamped his arm down on her wrist. "No. you've been away long enough already."

She pleaded and cried with him as he dragged her up the stairs. She clung to the bannister, but he just pried her fingers off it one by one and flipped her over his shoulder.

"Mates don't leave their mates, Kagome. No matter what. You need to learn that."

Kicking open his bedroom door, he threw her on the bed, not giving her time to stop bouncing before he was on her, kissing her brutally and making her bleed, his sharp teeth tearing into her delicate skin. Her hands beat at his shoulders uselessly, and he finally got tired of her attempts at trying to get him off of her and pinned her wrists to the bed. He frantically nipped her throat and she found herself screaming. That only seemed to irritate him and he again placed his lips on hers, effectively muffling her noise, his hands quickly coming to her neck and squeezing, cutting off her air. Did he know what he was doing? Was he trying to _kill_ her? Getting rid of her the same way he'd done with her mother. The thought made her eyes water anew and she pictured him carelessly tossing her in the basement with Miroku and Sango, continuing on his destructive path, living for an eternity as a true beast. And it would be her fault.

Her mark was burning, and the inside voice was again commanding her to submit. The pain of her mark overwhelmed all other sensation, becoming nearly unbearable, and then she gave up, making herself limp and exchanging her screams for small whimpers. Her mate released her neck and left her lips to suck and bite at her breasts, rougher than he had ever been with her. She was surprised to find herself enjoying it. His quick, almost desperate ministrations made her feel desired, and not in the way Tsubaki did. Inuyasha acted like he needed her to live, to breathe, to exist.

Accepting her submission, Inuyasha turned her over. The fear nearly choked her. He was going to punish her. He wanted to punish her, to hurt her just as he had that night that ruined it all. In a way, she wanted the same thing. It was what she deserved. She had hurt him so much the past few years, even if it was without her knowledge. He pressed her face down into the pillow and she turned her head to the side, gasping for breath as he entered her. The mark hummed along to the song her body sang as he touched her. The emotional pain and shame that filled her was so great that it rivaled what she had felt on the last day of her mother's life. She was so weak, always needing to be taken care of. She didn't even care who did it, did she? But Inuyasha was better than the rest. He was the best one.

"You need to be punished, but the highlight of this whole experience has always been those little faces you make," he panted disjointedly, sounding almost normal. Sliding out of her, he turned her on her back and plunged in again right away. "I need to see you. I need to watch you when you cum. Please cum for me, baby. Cum for me, angel. Kagome…"

The mingling of their breath when he spoke was more intimate than any kiss they'd ever shared, and she took his words into her mouth and savored their flavor. The beginnings of sanity in his eyes and the raw emotion of his words had her gushing and clenching around him. He slammed his lips onto hers and pumped once more before finally finishing. Cradling her in his arms, they stayed joined until their bodies calmed, and then he pulled out, rolled to the side and let her snuggle into his chest.

"I'm going to make you love me again, Kagome. Whatever it takes."

Her pain nearly doubled at hearing that. She had never stopped.

**O/\o/\O**

Kagome watched the sunrise through Inuyasha's big window, realizing Tsubaki was more than likely dead. The knowledge hardly disturbed her afterglow. She and her mate had come together again and again the previous night. He didn't leave her alone long enough to think, and she was grateful. He had been tender and rough and passionate and wild and loving in turns and it was just what she needed. He could be anything for her, so she would be everything for him.

Even now, he ran his fingers down her arm suggestively. Giggling, she rolled over and faced him. He cupped her face and gave her a slow, sweet kiss. Her lips were sensitive, still cut and bruised from their earlier passions.

"Morning," he murmured, devotion in his voice and gaze.

"Morning," she smiled back.

Inuyasha's eyes lit up as he watched her stretch. "Let's go somewhere. Anywhere. Let's run away and get married and travel the world for our honeymoon."

Kagome felt like crying, so many emotions were shooting through her. But she had to be strong. She could be strong now. Tsubaki had at least taught her that, just as she'd promised. "We'll have to call Myoga first, though. We'll need a press conference and stuff to let everyone know I'm no longer a missing person. Besides that, I'd like to get Shikon up and running again, and you have your duties with Tetsusaiga. And then we have to wait for everyone to stop talking."

Inuyasha rolled over onto her and buried his face in her neck. "Fuck. There are so many things to do. That'll take fucking forever. Fucking asshole Myoga."

Kagome had told him last night that his assistant was the one who had told her to come and that he had been the one who had covered her room with dog hearts like some kind of demented feng shui artist. Inuyasha had been about to run naked to his house to kill his loyal servant when Kagome distracted him with her lips and tongue. He wasn't so angry anymore, but he was still going to make him take a very long unpaid vacation. The flea needed to learn about boundaries and respect. Taking a deeper sniff of her, he froze. Something was different. She rolled him over so that she was on top, and the look on her face plainly stated that she was surprised he had actually let her.

"What's with the face, Inuyasha?"

"Uh, you wouldn't, uh, happen to still be on birth control, would you?"

Kagome shook her head. "Nope. Mother always did that for me, even when she sent me to live with Onigumo. And then with Tsubaki I didn't even think of it." Her face paled and she realized what he was saying. "Oh god, am I…?"

Inuyasha nodded. Goddamn supernaturally persistent demon sperm taking away time he'd hoped to enjoy with just Kagome…

She glared at him suspiciously. "If you can smell pregnancy, how come I went without a dad for the first fifteen years of my life?"

He rolled his eyes. "I think her whole purifying you in the womb thing prevented me from smelling fertilization. The scent is usually incredibly subtle, anyway, so I have to be pressed up against you," he explained, bucking his morning erection onto her naked folds, pleased when she bit her lip and groaned.

"Nothing subtle about that." She rose to her knees and guided him into her slowly, gingerly. She was sore from all the play they had indulged in the previous night, but she needed him more than she needed to be able to walk normally. "Ooh, you're going to have to tell Myoga to clean up the basement," she groaned.

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. "Never mention him while we're doing this ever again, angel."

She laughed, loud and open, and they moved as one, his hands on her hips keeping her steady. Briefly, Kagome wondered if this was insanity. Was she insane for not caring that she was coupling with the man who had given her life while the body of her first real female friend lay tossed in the basement? Was it insanity that picturing her lover of the past three years helplessly turning to dust made her ride Inuyasha faster? Was it insanity that when she orgasmed, she wondered if and hoped that her mother's spirit could hear her, see her happiness? Whatever it was, she collapsed onto her mate's chest and allowed him to kiss her mark, sending shivers through her. It would be better this time, wouldn't it? No more lies, no more secrets. It would be better because she knew herself now, knew what she wanted. They would be equal now, not a little girl and a monster, but a woman and a man, together by one another's side. Forever. No take backs.

Buyo came out of nowhere and jumped on the bed, meowing loudly for breakfast. They both ignored the unpleasant noise.

"I forgot to say I love you," she whispered against his lips.

"It's okay, I did too."

They kissed, and that one caress said everything that needed to be said. They were each other's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! I'm sorry it was so abrupt and anti-climactic and generally lame and didn't resolve some very important issues and that this long author's note maybe fooled some of you into thinking there was more story, but I just wanted this to be over so badly. There will not be a sequel, let's leave them while they're happy. And yeah, Kagome's not going to find out that Inuyasha and Kikyo were banging. Needless drama at this point.
> 
> Originally, this was just supposed to be a one-shot about Inuyasha fucking his step-daughter, Kagome, on a kitchen counter after she returned from school and it would be all super hot and there would be dirty-talking and whatever (still might write that). And then I was like, what if her mother knew and approved as long as she got her money? And what if her mom was Kikyo! Gasp! And what if Inuyasha only married her because he wanted to fuck her daughter and was obsessed with her, a la Humbert Humbert? And then it changed again. In my outline, Onigumo was Kagome's father and he didn't know it and also believed Inuyasha was her father, and he kidnapped her and raped her to get revenge on Kikyo for leaving him and Inuyasha for existing or whatever and then the truth would be discovered later and Kikyo would die from the pain and shame of it all (so dramatic, ugh) and there would be this huge showdown and Inuyasha would kill him and Kagome would be all pissed that he killed her dad because of reasons (didn't get that far) and she'd run away from him, driving him mad with grief and run-on sentences. Then she'd show up a few years later with her boyfriend Koga, wanting her mom's stuff and to see her grave, and Inuyasha would kill Koga and torture Kagome but in a super sexy way and they'd somehow fall in love again 'cause that's how that happens and bam! The end. No Sango or Miroku in that one. Let's face it, their only purpose in the original series is to cock block, and cock blocking is not allowed in my stories, no ma'am.
> 
> Also, I made a last minute change to Sesshomaru's scene the day before it was uploaded. Originally, he was just caring for Rin and not abusing her and Inuyasha threatened to tell everyone he was molesting her hoping it would force his brother into looking for Kagome. And then I started to lose a third of the readers and get complaints and like two reviews per chapter, and I thought, hell, why the fuck not? So now he's a pedophile, just like in the anime (because it wasn't the Sengoku Jidai's version of The Kid by Charlie Chaplin, nah, there was totally shit going on behind the scenes there). You're welcome, internet.
> 
> So uh, how many of you are thinking I should have written it the other way? Just curious. This all got so out of hand, and I'm glad you stayed with me until the end. I have quite a few more ideas, some more revolting that this one, others fairly normal. I have a pretty wide range as far as porn is concerned. ;D A warning: I've discovered that I love making InuKag related. Stuff like that grosses me out to no end unless it's the two of them. Like seriously, I was forced to read Flowers in the Attic for school and I legitimately started gagging, not even exaggerating. I blame Shouraichan's "When Heaven's Light Turns to Hellfire" for converting me. Almost didn't read it, 'cause like I said, incest is hella gross, but I did and here we are. Prepare for more if you're gonna read other stuff I write. I had a list of names I was going to include, thanking every frequent reviewer, but I decided not to because it might alienate some. Just know that I know who you are and you're what I think about when I shower. 3
> 
> I'm thinking I'm gonna take a small break, no more than a few days to a week, and then I'll have a week of one-shots, where I'll post a single one-shot a day. I'm calling it Shot Week, mostly because I'm an idiot. After that, I'll begin to post my next story.
> 
> Anyway, you guys are awesome and thank you for reading and reviewing! Especially reviewing! I like it when you review! HINTHINTHINTHINTHINTHINTHINT. Like, if you're reading this in the future because you're the kind of person who only reads completed stories (like me, most of the time), I'd like it if you would leave a review just to tell me what you generally thought of the thing. Thanks!


End file.
